


Can we keep her?

by Shipsaresinking



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Adoption, Alex Danvers is a Softie, Attempting to be parents, Aunt Kara, Bisexual Kara Danvers, Bisexuality, Children, F/F, Gay, Gayness, Genderfluid, Genderfluid Character, How Do I Tag, LGBTQ Character, Lesbian, Maggie is a softie, Maggie's bestie John, Original Character(s), Original Non-Binary Character - Freeform, Orphan - Freeform, Pansexual Kara Danvers, Parents Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Past Character Death, Randomness, Superheroes, sad past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-14 14:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 26,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9185312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipsaresinking/pseuds/Shipsaresinking
Summary: Maggie is actually a big softie and she soon becomes attached to a certain not that small girl who totally doesn't need anyone. Or maybe Maggie an Alex could be just what she needs. A family of her own.Maggie's uni cooking club is reunited and the life of the Danvers gets even crazier.





	1. Softie

**Author's Note:**

> This is set about 2 years after season 2 except no Mon-el. We basically just went crazy. This is just based off of our random ideas and supergirl so it ignores events that occured in Smallville. Ember started co-writing this after chapter 4 and she's amazing!  
> -Beck

Maggie was tired. She was drinking a bad hospital coffee and she was tired. She wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up with her girlfriend.  She wasn't tired in the lack of sleep sense, more in the "I've been working all day but not actually done anything" sense.

There had been a lull in criminal activity. Maybe that wasn't entirely true, but she seemed to be stuck with unimportant, dead-end cases. Prehaps the DEO and supergirl were becoming more effective; she hoped Kara made sure not to overwork herself, the Danvers women, whom had become family to her, knew how to be stubborn and hardworking to a fault. So did Maggie for that matter.

She wasn't technically working, she had been making her way home when she came across a boy who had fallen down some a flight of stone steps to the nearby hospital. An ambulance didn't seem nessecceary for the little boy as his family soon came looking for him and he most just appeared to be shocked. His parents just wanted to make sure he was alright. She was just taking a minute to reacquaint herself with coffee of a certain low quality as she wanted to avoid the walk home.

"Well I don't know when you became part of the ambulance team, but you need to stop helping bring people here--we're overflowing as it is."

"John!" Maggie turned around to find her friend standing next to her with a teasing grin. "Its been too long! Since when did you work in this part of the hospital?"

"Since we got crazy busy. It's my break as well so yeah."

"I don't always bring people in."

"I think that you keep up a front with all your bad ass police science department work, but really you want to help everyone." Despite her composure, she feels quite touched. Then again, John has always been one of the few to really see her.

"Why thank you handsome gentleman."

"You might be constantly super smooth, but if you're wearing uniform you can't resist the urge to be that calm, helpful, authoritative figure. Not too mention you look hot in it too." John winks jokily and Maggie rolls her eyes.

"Sorry mate, but I'm still taken. And gay. So are you actually." She says vaguely gesturing at all of him.

"Oh yes I think I might recall..." He jokes.  Maggie has go stop herself from rolling her eyes again.

"Need I remind you? We made up all of the 'G' in the GSA at high school." He grins goofily in return.

"Anyways how have you been?"

"Good, good. Me and Alex still going strong as you probably know if you've seen Kara’s Facebook. You've only met a couple of times yet you guys get along crazily well. The science department's been quiet, but that's a good thing I guess."

"Means less weird crimes in the city and more time to yourself."

"Hmmnn"

"Actually, Mags?"

"Don't call me that. Yeah?"

"Do you know anyone who fosters?"

"Not many, but yes. Why?"

"Well we had this kid in. She had been brought in when someone noticed her walking on her clearly injured ankle. They said she was upset, I think she had some kind of break down and I think the injury was just a small contributing factor."

"Is she alright?" Maggie is immediately concerned.

"Her leg is almost better now, she will probably still have problems with stairs though. At least she's physically better anyway. She just left her previous foster placement. I think she sort of ran away? I'm trying to find somewhere for her to stay even just temporarily."

"Why do you need to find someone to foster her? Isn't that social services' job?"

"Yeah it is, but stuff has just got all tangled up you know we're just really full and she doesn't need to be here but has nowhere else to go." Maggie looks solemn before her friend continues.

"It's funny that were so busy and you aren't."

"Oh that's going to change I'm sure." Just as Maggie says that her phone starts to ring. She looks at the screen to see its her boss. "Speak of the devil."

"Work?" John questions.

"Yeah. I should take this. Meet up soon?"

"For sure." Maggie sighs as John walks away. She puts the phone to her ear.

"Hey? Yeah. I'll be there. And tomorrow..."

 

So much for not doing anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone want another chapter? I just love Maggie and I turned her into a big softie. I know this is short. I will continue sometime. Comments motivate ;). Leave me criticism I need it.-Beck


	2. Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter and the pointless fluff but I just love these two! Any feedback is welcome   
> -Beck

"Yeah bye love you sis." said Alex  
  
"I'll see you two on Friday right?" asked Kara  
  
"Yeah, games night."  
  
"Im glad we still do it. It'll probably just be me third wheeling you two again."  
  
"Hey! Youre not a third wheel and you know it!"  
  
"I know. Bye Alex! Love you!"  
  
"Yeah see ya."  
  
 Alex hung up the phone and sighed happily before turning back to the TV. She smiled as she thought to herself, Maggie had been telling her how it had been almost slow at work and she knew it wouldn't last long. After a while, the doorbell finally rang and she went to go let her girlfriend in.  
  
"Where's your key?"  
  
Maggie grinned apologetically, "Ummm I think I left it here. I dunno."  
  
"Come in already. It's cold."  
  
Maggie entered their apartment and they both grinned and shared a short kiss.  
  
"Long day?"  
  
"It's didn't start off that way but we just wanted to get to a good point on a new case."  
  
"It's alright, I get it."  
  
"I saw John today." They fill two mugs with coffee and sit sideways, facing each other on their couch.  
  
"Wait John?" Alex inquired looking concerned, "Your bestie John? Knows you better than me John? Nurse at the hospital John?"  
  
"The very same" At Alex's confused gaze she shrugged, "We didn't plan it, but nothing bad happened to end me at the hospital-" Alex cut in, "You were just, let me guess, helping strangers."  
  
"Mmmnnnnn" Alex's girlfriend glanced away.  
  
"Hey there's nothing wrong with being a soft touch, it's just funny all the little kids you're always helping when you act so cool most of the time. I think it's adorable."  
  
"I'm not the only prickly one." Maggie jibed softly.  
  
"I've always thought you were" Alex proclaimed, ignoring her with an almost comically sincere expression. "Adorable that is"  
  
Maggie smirked "Even when I had a girlfriend?" She said faking an aghast look.  
  
"Yes even then" grinning gently they turned on the sofa so that the sides of their heads rested against each others "Though I was too afraid to admit it."  
  
"I gotta say babe you were so deep in denial it was messing with my gaydar."  
  
Alex chuckled and leaned in and they kissed deeply ."But ultimately you were right." She added like an afterthought.  
  
"I usually am. John once referred to me as a gay guru" She sighed quietly, "Though that doesn't mean I knew how to love and be loved. You know... properly."  
  
"You were always good at the physical side, but the emotions are the hardest. I feel like I might have been more of a failure at relationships than you though."  
  
Maggie snorted breathily "Maybe"  
  
"Im glad though, you know, that you were right and that now I have you" Alex said gazing into Maggie's face which was softened into a wide smile.  
  
"See. We're getting good at this. The whole emotions thing."  
  
They sat there for a moment before Maggie stood to get some food and Alex was left feeling the sudden cold were the warmth of Maggie's body had been before. She smiled because they might not be perfect, but they had come so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i left it so long. Hopefully uploading another chapter super soon. I was so happy to read the comments left on my first chapter. Thank you.


	3. Alien

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops I made a super short chapter again.

"Danvers! You are in charge just make sure we get this alien!" Hank barked as the headed out to find an escapee. Apparently, they had got the alien figured all due to some data mix up and it was able to get out. It was likely that it was too stupid to hurt anyone, but it was unpredictable and had caused mega trouble before, hence why it was in the DEO in the first place.  
  
"Yes sir." Alex replied. Kara was off somewhere probably being heroic or maybe just eating potstickers, but whatever the reason this one was down to her and the team now.  
  
They arrived at a street near the hospital and that cafe that Maggie was constantly telling her was one of the gayest places on earth. Not that she should think about Maggie right now. That would make her more likely to let an alien avoid getting it's butt kicked.  
  
"Make sure everyone is safe." She ordered one half of her group although the street seemed mostly clear. She then directed her gaze towards the others. "Okay split into three groups to look for any sign of the alien. If you find anything contact us immediately." She then gestured towards the two agents standing closest to her. "Smith! Hewitt! With me."  
  
Everyone quickly followed their orders. There seemed to be random areas of damage dotted around. Whatever the alien was doing it didn't appear to have any plan or pattern.  
  
As they turned a corner into a side alley Alex spotted a lone figure in a hoodie. "Excuse me we are evacuating the area. There is a dangerous criminal on the loose."  
  
The person jumped a little "Alien you mean?" Came a girl's voice. The girl turned and Maggie was surprised at how young she was. She was fairly tall, but she had a young look about her, maybe 12 years old with deep, brown eyes squinting suspiciously out from under her mass of curls and the hood of a badly sized jumper. Alex was a little taken aback and glanced at Hewitt with an incredulous look as if to check that she's not imagining this odd child up.  
  
"The danger is in fact an alien and you ought to be somewhere safe."  
  
"Well I was hiding wasn't I?" The girl rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well..." it certainly didn't seem as though she was hiding from the alien more something or someone else, but Alex didn't add that.  
  
"Perhaps she ought to come with us." Smith suggested.  
  
Alex stepped closer and the girls confidence seemed to flicker for a second, worry flashing over her face before a defiant scowl rested on her broad features. This kid was a mystery.  
  
"Why should I trust you?"  
  
"Because you don't have much of a choice." Replied Alex. They stared each other down, The woman taking in the smudges of dirt like war paint on her dark skin. Followed by the bandaged ankle and lower leg and then her ill-fitting trousers, thin gown as a shirt and her hospital wrist band. "What's your name?" Alex prodded carefully.  
  
"August." August answered, her name presented like a challenge, beginning to walk towards the agents before she noticed Alex's eyes fixed on her hospital issue gown not fully covered by her oversized top. She looked scared and hurriedly whispered under her breath  like a habit "It's not just a boys name."  
  
Just as Alex wondered what to do she heard a distinctly inhuman screech and left Smith to look after the escaped girl while she and Hewitt ran to go and find the escaped alien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I introduced a new character here I'm not sure where this story is going but oh well. Any ideas? Opinions on August?  
> -Beck


	4. Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think so that I can write more :) this one is actually a lot longer.

Buzzzzz buzz a glance at her phone told Maggie that she had a missed call and a new message as well as some older ones from John. She scrolled up to the fist message and began to read  
  
_Pick upppppp._  
  
_Hey Maggie I hope you read this message soon because a little birdie told me that there's a kid on the ward spinning tales of alien fighting agents._  
  
_Not that that would mean anything but... Just thought you might like to check it out_  
  
_Update: the kid had actually just run out before being brought in by a man dressed in black gear._  
  
_Another update: the same girl I was telling you about the other day._  
  
_Any leads on a foster? This is one crazy bored kid._  
  
_Maggie?_  
  
_Hello?!_  
  
Whoops Maggie muttered. At least John didn't angry text to much this time. Some of his impatient messages could be a little... intense. She quickly typed out a thank you and decided she better head to the hospital to check it out. Hopefully she could talk to the kid. Contemplating whether or not to call Alex she decided not to worry her girlfriend until she found out more; she would usually tell her immediately but it was games night and Al and lil' Danvers were due some quality sister time so she just sent Alex a message saying that she was a little caught up at work and might be late.  
  
She hurried to the hospital and was able to find  John fairly easily with only a few cryptic text messages.  
  
"Maggie you need to get better at replying!" John said as she gave him a quick hug  
  
"Well I'm here now."  
  
"I don't have long, but you might want to see if the girl might be saying something possibly dangerous?" He remarked quietly.  
  
Maggie found herself cursing his observant nature; he knew so much about her and Alex's work and she reckoned he probably had his suspicions about Kara as well.  
  
Maggie hurriedly followed her friend down a corridor "Okay so this might not be very legal but I might know some people with certain... connections so..." She said while they walked.  
  
"I know." John waved his hand dismissively and they arrived at a door "basically this really isn't how we're supposed to do stuff, but special circumstances as she was disturbing other, sicker patients. Hopefully her social worker should arrive soon and we can arrange a placement."  
  
"Okay I'll try and not take long" Maggie placed her hand on the door, taking a deep breath before she walked into the room.  
  
When Maggie entered the room she saw a skinny, young, dark-skinned girl leaning back on a chair next to a bed looking up at the ceiling. Glacing around, she decided the small room must be some sort of spare, individual hospital room. "Um hello?" Maggie said cautiously to the child who was pointedly ignoring her. Said girl didn't move from her position staring up at the ceiling.  
  
"Hello." she says in a blunt, bored voice "Have you come to tell me I'm crazy? Everyone knows alien exist so why can't people who are trying to stop them exist too?"  
  
"You're not crazy." Maggie answered abrubtly. The girl sat up and looked at her with wide eyes. "I've come to see what you want, you wouldn't be spreading dangerous stories if you didn't want us to listen."  
  
"So you're one of them then."  
  
"Oh no, I'm not. I know of whom you might be speaking, but I'm actually from the police department."  
  
"The police? I haven't done anything wrong!"  
  
"Well I mean you have run away a couple of times and the police can get involved in these kind of things, but I'm actually not here on official business. I'm just making sure we aren't going to have any problems, I guess you could say I'm here to save a friend some worry."

There was a prolonged pause and Maggie took the chance to take in the child's appearance fully she had wild hair and despite her height she looked young and tired like someone who had seen enough and wanted to be left alone.  
  
"Before I ask you a couple of questions," said Maggie "I might like to ask a little about you?"  
  
The girl looked up. "My name's August-it's not just for boys- and I'm 11, but most people think I'm older, it's the height thing I guess" for this August earned one of Maggie's half dimple grins (Kara liked to refer to them this way as she used only one side of her face for this particular smile). In return Maggie saw the briefest twitch of lips on August's face.  
  
"Okay then August would you like to explain to me why exactly you were disturbing other children with tales nevermind if they were true or otherwise."  
  
"Well..." Maggie witnessed a couple of unidentifiable emotions cross the young girl's face. "I don't have to tell you anything."  
  
Sighing Maggie felt frustrated at whatever it was that had made the girl so closed off. "That's true."  
  
August looked surprised at the exceptance of her defiant answer and didn't say anything else. There was a long pause and August started looking anywhere except at Maggie who could just about hear her accelerating breathing she seems to be having some sort of panic attack induced by her own thoughts.  
  
"August." Nothing. "August look at me." Maggie attempted.  
  
"Hey!" August's voice raised to a shout. "You can't keep saying my name when I don't even know yours!" She seemed wild almost hysterical suddenly and Maggie felt a desperate urge to make her feel relaxed.  
  
"August." She tried calmly. It wasn't working. "August."  
  
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" The girl was sobbing uncontrollably; a stark contrast to the indifference she had shown before. Not that facial expression had really portray what someone was feeling.  
  
"Maggie."  
  
"Ma *hic* aggie?" She looked so vulnerable and despite just meeting the girl Maggie wanted to wrap her up in her arms and never let go. It was slightly terrifying.

"My name." Carefully considering her words the woman continued " I'm sorry if I caused you any stress it's okay to tell me if you want me to tell you something so that we're on even ground." She noticed that she wet cheeks too and reached out a hand just so that the option was there for August to take it.  
  
Drying her eyes and wearing a determined expression, August looked up. "My social worker's coming isn't she?"  
  
"I think it might-"  
  
"Isn't she?"  
  
"Well yes."  
  
"You're not even supposed to be here I could report you or something."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How do you know I won't?"  
  
"I'm gonna have to trust you on this one kid." She answers, shocking herself at how true this was and how invested she felt in this child's wellbeing.  
  
"I'm not going to stop telling people."  
  
"I feared as much."  
  
"And I'm not going to go with my social worker to another place I won't belong."  
  
"Well kid I'm sure you have your reasons and I know we don't really know each other, but believe me I don't want you to be unhappy. I just don't know what I can do."  
  
"I understand." August seemed to have said all she wanted and deflated a little looking downcast.  
  
Maggie thought back to the slivers of smiles she had seen and wanted the girl to really smile. She just felt like she could relate to her so much even though they were different and some sort of motherly instinct appeared to be kicking in.  
  
"Hey. You know what." Maggie said slowly and August looked at her and the tiny glimmer of innocent hope in her eyes was all she needed to formulate a plan "I might not be able to do anything but I know people who can."  
  
"You would do that?"  
  
"Yeah." Maggie's face was suddenly full of unruly curls and slender arms wrapped around her. They both breathed in deeply and relaxed into the hug and held on for a while longer before letting go.  
  
"I'm really sorry about... all that." August bobbed her head almost shyly.  
  
"Hey it's alright. If we're gonna be here a bit longer we might as well get along because it doesn't look like any social worker's coming anytime soon."  
  
Maggie made a few phone calls and was hoping she had enough sway at the DEO (this meant she hoped Alex and Kara had enough sway) to help a random child with whom she had formed a quick, but tentative connection.  
  
"So what's the plan?" August asked, her confidence regained.

"I'm hoping some good friends of mine might help out. Ever heard of Supergirl?" ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously August has some issues, I'm growing attached to her though and I think Maggie and Alex can help her and she can help them soooo...  
> Another chapter?  
> -Beck


	5. Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wait... you stole a child?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend Ember has finished watching supergirl and has begun helping me with this. In fact, she probably wrote the majority of this chapter. She's the best!

"Hank? Wait what? You've got a kid? Oh it's not yours. Wait... you stole a kid?" Alex questioned down the phone "Okaaaay. She's been there how long! Why didn't you tell me yesterday? OK.  Yes I'll come in."  
.  
.  
.  
 As Alex entered the DEO building, she scanned the place and instantly noticed Maggie.

"Hey," she said, approaching her girlfriend. "What's up? Something wrong? There's a kid here, according to Hank."

"I know." Maggie said, glancing sideways to where August was standing, watching the agents bustle around with a look of mild curiosity on her face. "I may or may not have brought her in."

Alex followed Maggie's gaze and did a double take, instantly recognising her as the girl she had met whilst apprehending the alien, August.

Hank walked up to them, a familiar stern frown set upon his features. "I still don't think it's the best idea to have a child - god forbid, a child! - in the DEO." He muttered.

"I met her whilst I was out on that mission the other day. I think Smith brought her to the hospital." Alex said with a slight frown.

"Wait - what?" Maggie dived headlong into the conversation. "I went to drop by at the hospital and she was there. She seemed so lost and lonely..." Alex noted a hint of sympathy at the end of Maggie's sentence.

"Aw, you big old softie." Alex teased lightly, nudging her girlfriend slightly. "Why don't we talk to her now?"  
 "What's going on?" Kara's voice rolled through the room. Wondering how she and Maggie were going to explain this, Alex turned around to greet her sister.

"Uh, Maggie brought a kid in." Alex began slightly awkwardly.

"I still don't approve." Hank said bluntly.

"Of course you don't." Kara said. "But - why?"

 Both Alex and Kara turned to Maggie and Hank just shook his head muttering almost undecipherably something about "in all his years.."

 "Well, what else was I supposed to do?" Maggie started, then lowered her voice so that August, still shrouded in the shadows, wouldn't hear. "She was looking so lonely and lost at the hospital, and she knows about aliens and that there's an organisation that fights the rogue ones." Maggie turned the last sentence to Hank specifically. "If anything, I'm helping you keep it a secret." She said, executing her famous half-dimpled smile at the end for appeal.

"Look, let's just talk to her and see what's going on." Kara said, and turned to go talk to August, red cape swishing behind. Maggie quickly stepped in front of her.

"Um... just be really careful about how you say stuff." She said, and Kara nodded, but then Hank started speaking.

"Come on, we should be taking her back to social services." He said, exasperated. "This is ridiculous..."

"You're just afraid you'll get attached." Kara said quietly in an almost sing song voice.

Kara headed towards August with Alex trying to keep up. Damn that alien was fast. Somehow Maggie was faster and was sitting next to the girl before they reached the other side of the room, smiling like a adorable, guilty, nervous little body guard. They sat a little apart but August seemed comforted by her presence.

Kara sat down "Hey..." She trailed off suddenly realising she didn't even know her name.

"August" Alex quietly prompted, causing Maggie to throw her a surprised look, even August seemed taken aback that she remembered her name but Alex hadn't been able to get their meeting out of her head. 

Alex just raised an eyebrow in return that, without requiring words, told Maggie she might have a little explaining to do.

"It's not just a boy's name." Was all August said before Kara began smiling and her infectious grinning managed to spread to August and Maggie. Sunshine Danvers had struck again. Alex still looked concerned however.

"Maggie. A word please."

She sheepishly slid away from her new found friend and Alex almost missed the look that Maggie and August briefly shared. Almost.

"I know it's crazy, but well... she was gonna spill, not that I really am sure she would, I mean... she needs to be cared for, she wanted help, she was being thrown around like she was the ball in some crazy game of I dunno... volleyball or something and she was just so special and I can't-"

"Woah. Slow down" Alex said calmly. "I get it. You wanted to help her. In fact, I did too when I first saw her. But what good can we do bringing her here."

"She wasn't happy!"

"And although I don't know anything about her I want to help too. I understand really. All I'm saying is that we need a plan before we promise her the world.

"We?" Maggie repeated hopefully.

"I dunno it's just something about her. I want to know more. And I want to help her."

"And her eyes."

"I don't know why but they just look into your soul." They both hummed in agreement.

After a moment, the two walked back towards Kara, who had managed to get August talking a little more. The girl looked a bit more comfortable - just a bit - as Kara worked her way with her familiar sunny smile. Maggie sat down on the other side of August. Alex leaned against the wall, listening in to the conversation.

"So it is true, there are people hunting down the bad aliens." August was saying.

"Uh, yes." Kara replied.

"It's true." August repeated, sounding half-dazed. "It's true."

"Yeah, um, can you keep a secret?" Maggie began gently. Alex smiled again - Maggie was such a big softie.

"As long as I'm not sent back" August quickly cut in.

"I'm sure we can figure something out" she said glancing in Hank's direction before turning to August and matching her determined look.

"Sooooo..." Maggie continued, deciding to ignore whatever stand-off they were quietly having, "While I know you have already met I think some introductions are in order."

"So, this is my girlfriend, Alex." Maggie began. Alex smiled slightly with a nod.

"You can call me Kara." Kara said brightly, smiling warmly. August nodded.

"Oh, this is Hank." Alex said, glancing towards her boss who just merely nodded at August.

"Oh, don't mind him. Pretending not to like someone is his first sign that he's probably getting attached to you. Well - not in a romantic sense, 'cause that would be real creepy, but- ok, I think you get it." Kara trailed off.

"Hey I got your message and came here as soon as I could-"

Everyone turned around to see Winn standing sheepishly, taking in the scene. "Please tell me you guys did not steal that kid..." he said sideways to Hank, who scoffed and walked out of the room. Kara tried not to laugh.

August looked exasperatedly towards Maggie, "Why does everyone think I've been stolen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is great. Constructive criticism included. Where do you want this to go?  
> -Beck


	6. Not so secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much love to Ember who continues to write this story with me. A character from earlier episodes makes an appearance!  
> -Beck

Maggie decided to pay John another visit on his hospital shift, as she hadn't been to see him in days (though it felt like forever, considering the turbulent events.)

"Hey, Mags," John said rather cheerily as Maggie entered the room.

"Just wanted to see how my bro is doing." She returned his bright smile, cocking her head slightly.

"He's doing great." John said. "Although you know what's weird?"

"What?"

John lowered his voice so only Maggie could hear. "The young girl I told you about, well, she's gone missing. Like, no where to be found. The social care services are crawling all over the place but I don't think they found her yet."

Maggie frowned, biting her lip. She knew John was talking about August, but she was at the DEO. John wasn't meant to know about it, but on the other hand, he had been like her brother for nearly a decade.

After a moment, she caved.

"I think I know where Au- er, the girl is." Maggie said quietly. "How long is your shift?"

"Ends in 10 minutes." John glanced at his watch.

"Meet you in the cafeteria area?"

"Uh... sure" John answered looking a little concerned.

Maggie fidgeted in her seat, here she was again, drinking a bad hospital coffee. She knew she had to explain the DEO to John otherwise it would be hard to find a reason for looking after August whom, despite barely knowing her, she already cared deeply about. She knew he wouldn't tell anyone, but she had been sworn to secrecy and even though she worked with them sometimes she wasn't technically part of the DEO and it sure wasn't her secret to tell.

John sat down next to her, steaming hot chocolate in his hand. He took a sip. "Oh, this tastes better than usual." He nodded. "So, what is it?"

Maggie had a last minute debate in her mind about whether or not she should tell him. She wasn't exactly sure how Alex would react to this either, but how else was she meant to explain about August?

"You're doing that little frown-y thing again. What is it?" John glanced at her, putting his empty cup down.

"Can you keep a secret? Like, a really big one." Maggie ventured slowly.

"Sure. I've kept your secret for a long time, you know, the one about the time when you ate too many baked beans back in 8th grade and you-"

"Ok, ok. Don't go there." She said hastily before John could continue describing that mortifying event.

"Anyway, the girl." John pressed, and Maggie squirmed a little awkwardly in her seat.

"So, you know how there are aliens out there and Supergirl goes and fights the rogue ones and stuff," she started.

"Uh, yeah."

"Um... there's an organisation that backs her up and holds the bad aliens in. And, uh, I sometimes work with them, and I may or may not have encountered the girl you were talking about, and brought her there." She said quickly, heart pumping- how would John react? And, more importantly, how would Alex react when she found out Maggie had told someone without permission?

However, she was not expecting John to grin and say, "You talking about the DEO?"

"What? How did you know-" Maggie said, caught off guard. All this time and he knew?

"No need to get suspicious. I got offered to be their cook, although I turned them down." John said rather nonchalantly as if they were discussing the weather.

"Uh... I swear so many places have offered you to be the cook." Maggie said with a shake of her head.

"That cooking class Lucy set up did actually help." He said with a laugh. Maggie released a tense breath she didn't actually know she had been holding, relief flooding through her.

Tell you what," John said. "I think this cooking class has to reunite. Maybe this weekend."

"I'm thinking karaoke." Maggie said thoughtfully.

"Maybe you could invite your girlfriend Alex. And her adorable little sister." He said with a grin.

"I'll ring Lucy, see if she's free." Maggie said. "I'll ask Alex and Kara."

"I'll ask Jordan, I think she's free." John said standing up. "My breaks almost over, I have to go. See ya, Mags."

"See you later."

.  
.  
.

"What do I wear tonight?" Kara contemplated as she rummaged through her wardrobe and clothes racks.

"It's going to be at a pub, and there's going to be karaoke, so wear something nice." Alex said, her clothes already prepared and folded in her bag.

"I don't know..." Kara frowned. "Should I go with blue? Purple? Pink? All three?"

"You suit blue and red." Alex suggested, reaching around Kara and pulling out a dark blue knee high dress. "Yeah, this one looks like it will suit you."

"So, who's going again? We know Maggie is, and that amazing cook John." Kara wondered, examining the dress with a nod.

"Yeah, Maggie did say he's a good cook." Alex said. "Someone called Lucy is going, and there's also a Jordan. I don't know them, but Maggie does, so we'll just go with it, I guess."

.  
.  
.

Maggie debated whether or not she should wear jeans and a nice top or a dress. After a moments hesitation, she decided jeans and top - dresses weren't really her thing, anyway. She checked her alarm clock. It was 7:49. Nearly time for the big reunion at 8:20.

.  
.  
.

(At the bar)

"Wow," Kara commented as she followed Alex into a lively pub, excitement buzzing in the air, music pumped into the open space.

"I know." Alex said, scanning the tables for Maggie.

"Hey!" The two sisters turned around towards the voice. Maggie was sitting at a large and fairly empty table, waving them over. Alex grinned and sat down next to her. On Maggie's other side was a friendly looking man with dark blond hair.

"John!" Kara grinned and sat down next to him. She had only met him twice before but they had instantly clicked.

"Hey, Kara." He answered with an equally sunny grin.

"Ok, so I did some experimenting with some potstickers the other day and I found out hoisin sauce goes with them soooo well." John said, and Kara grinned at the mention of potstickers, her favourite.

"Sounds great, I should try that tomorrow." Kara mused, and the two of them entered a rapt conversation about which sauces go better with potstickers.

"John should make a cooking channel." Maggie said to Alex with a laugh.

"Yeah, he totally should." Alex agreed with an amused smile.

"Me and John used to cook together in high school before Lucy started the cooking club" She laughed, "His parents thought we were a couple."

Alex laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah, I think Lucy low key shipped it too. Oh, speaking of Lucy..." Maggie trailed off, noticing Lucy enter the pub, hair, make up and clothes immaculate as ever.

"Hey, Mags." Lucy smiled as she sat down. "And, er, hi Alex." She said, sounding confused, looking at Alex, then at Kara (who was still animatedly talking to John about the perks of soy sauce) and then back at Alex again.

"Don't worry, I invited her." Maggie said.

"Lucy?" Kara exclaimed in surprise before Lucy could say anything. "Not that I don't like you or anything but what are you doing here?"

"Oh, for the reunion." Lucy answered. "It was one great cooking class I set up. I'm guessing you know Mags and John, then?"

"Yeah." Alex and Kara said at the same time.

"Wait, so THE Lucy Lane was the Lucy you guys knew in uni?" Kara whispered to John. He nodded.

"You know her too?"

"Yeah..." Kara said, exchanging a look with Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments they brighten my day and motivate me to make more chapters.


	7. Of Gays and Bars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie and her old uni cooking club are at a bar along with Alex and Kara. Karaoke and banter ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new OC in this chapter. August should be in the next chapter.

The mood at their table was relaxed and easy after they had discovered that everyone at the table was aware of the DEO (to a certain extent), everyone explained how they knew each other and a few were nearing the tipsy side of sober.

"So now that we're all up to date on the romance and stolen children what have you been up to Luce?" John wiggled an eyebrow at his friend.

"I am going to have to meet August at some point because I am intrigued." She remarked smiling over at Maggie and Alex who kept unconciously gazing happily at each other and grasping the others' hand.

"But what about you!" Kara prompted. Any remaining ill feelings had been quickly demolished by the sincere, but light-hearted conversation. John chuckled at Kara's exasperated excitement; she may not be drinking any alcohol, (and John had an inkling it wouldn't affect her even if she did drink) but she seemed the most drunk out of all of them with rosy cheeks and manic grinning.

Lucy answered, "I'm living back in the city now."

"Where are you staying then?" Kara pressed curiously.

"Oh, with an old friend from uni?"

At this John butts in, "So someone me and Mags know then? Because as far as I'm aware, you didn't have any friends outside of cooking class. Sorry, but you know it's true."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's Jordan."

"Who's Jordan" and "Wait is Jordan the one with the cat?" Kara and Alex chime simultaneously.

Just as Lucy was about to answer, a new voice arose. "Is that my name I hear?" The voice had a strong British accent, and was rich and melodious, Kara thought.

John and Maggie swivelled around in their seats. "Hey, Jordan." John chimed.

Maggie jumps out of her seat and grabs Jordan "I haven't seen you for too long!"

"Missed you too"

"Pronouns?"

"She"

"Cool."

Kara took in the new arrival. Short, auburn hair that curved over the ears, dark brown eyes that were deep and contemplative. Jordan was wearing denim jeans and jacket, and the shirt she wore bore a slogan saying: "Come to the Dark Side; we have COOKIES!!" Kara immediately decided she liked Jordan.

Maggie dragged her friend to the seat between her and Kara "Jordan this is my girlfriend Alex and her sister Kara."

Alex smiled "Hey."

Kara waved awkwardly "Kara. I'm mean I'm Kara. Not you. But you already know that because she just said... yeah"

Jordan chuckled "I've heard so much." Kara could've sworn Maggie's friend just winked at her.

"Now that Jo-Jo is here," John said, using his nickname for Jordan, "We can get her something to drink and then SWITCH ON THE KARAOKE MACHINE, BABY!" He whooped.

"Oh, god, I'm not singing." Alex said with a small smile and a shake of her head.

"Oh, yes, you are. If I go, you go. We'll do it together. And John's bound to make me go." Maggie said edgeways, and Kara, having overheard, laughed.

"Ok, ok calm down I'll go first"

"I wasn't asking you to John."

"It's fine I know what the fans really want."

Everyone face palms except Jordan and Kara who are cheering loudly as he makes his way to the karaoke stage.

As the familiar beat of "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen starts pumping into the room, John raised the mike out of the stand and began to sing. Even Kara internally cringed at his rather over-enthusiastic but inaccurate take on the song.

"He was not made to sing Queen. He's going to massacre all my favourite songs." Maggie, being a huge Queen fan, said laughing and also sounding terrified.

Lucy looked rather apprehensive. "Yeah..." she said as he reached the chorus. Kara was still cringing and laughing.

"Hey, Jordan, could you move slightly to the right? I need to film this." Alex said, laughing, phone out and already recording the event. Jordan shuffled sideways, still laughing heartedly with Maggie.

A lot of craziness occurred at their table before John eventually finished, Alex and Maggie had somehow ended up in the same seat, Kara had fallen off her chair at least three times in the last minute or so, Lucy and Jordan had told everyone about their apartment, Alex sent the video to everyone there plus James and Winn and Kara and Jordan were comparing socks with Kara occasionally snorting and falling off her chair laughing. It was an interesting sight.

"Hey you two look far too adorable right now, if you're not too comfortable I think you should go next."

After some defeated protests from Alex of "I don't sing" They were up on the stage with a song already selected. They were laughing about something.

Lucy shouted from their table, "Hey Sawyer can't you keep a straight face?" Then smugly added "Pun intended!"

Pretty much everyone laughed a little at her joke, and wondered what Alex and Maggie were laughing about. The music started playing and the two began to sing, in tune and in time.

"They're good." Lucy nodded. "Sanvers for the win!"

"She's aboard the ever sailing ship." John whispered conspiratorially to Jordan who nodded. "No, she's the captain of the ship. There's no stopping her. A captain is very deeply invested in her ship, you know."

"Sanvers is a really good name - I should've thought of that! She's my sister after all." Kara said a little indignantly.

The two approached the chorus. They all noticed that Maggie was valiantly fighting a snigger down, but it wasn't exactly working. Alex, too, was trying to sing and hold back a laugh.

 _"She's probably a lesbian_." They sang in unison and couldn't hold back their sniggers any longer. Lucy and Kara whooped and cheered as loud as they possibly could, trying to be louder than the other. It was like a competition to see who could cheer the loudest.

"I think Kara's trying to take over as the Sanvers Captain." Jordan muttered with a grin.

"Maybe they'll have to be co-captains, the competition is fierce!" John quipped.

Maggie and Alex managed to sing through their own laughing and sniggering, and at the end, everyone seemed sad for the performance to end. " _You lock eyes that implies that you're in luck my friend..."_

Kara took a photo then Lucy took a lot more than just one photo; it was kinda creepy. They embraced, grinning and returned to the table. They were instantly greeted with loud whoops and cheers from everyone.

"All aboard the ship!" John yelled, and Alex looked distinctly confused. "Never mind." He said seeing her face.

"That was amazing!" Kara squealed, wrapping her arms around her sister.

"Thanks," Alex said breathlessly, smiling.

"Well, as you look so excited to sing, why don't you go, Luce?" John prompted Lucy.

"Uh... I don't sing, guys..."

"We haven't heard you sing. Like, ever!" Maggie said, nudging Lucy a little. "We just went."

"You should," Jordan piped up, smiling. Freckles were sprinkled all across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Kara hadn't quite noticed due to the dim lighting until now. "I hear you sing all the time in the shower. You're really good!"

"Um..." she looked flustered, which was rather rare.

"C'mon Luce! I'm sure you're not that bad... though you can't be as good as I am..." John said smugly, and Alex turned her laugh into a hacking cough. Suddenly everyone else coughed too. John rolled his eyes, knowing it was just to cover their laughter.

"Ok. I'll go, just so I can get Sheridan to shut up." She said, casting a look at John.

"Go on, then, if you think you're so good, Lane." He said, rising to her challenge. She managed a smirk and walked up to the stage.

"5 quid - uh, bucks, sorry, that Luce sings some Ruelle." Jordan said, resting her head on her hand, her English tendencies having shown.

"Nah, she's gonna do Adele, I bet." John said joining in.

"I think she might do some Swift." Maggie said. "Last time she was obsessed."

"She likes Ellie Goulding, though, too, doesn't she? I swear she does." Kara leaned in, 5 dollar note in hand.

The table plunged into a last minute bet on what song Lucy would choose, and how well she would sing it.

"Guys." Alex nudged Kara in the ribs. The song began. It was eerie and mysterious. Kara frowned - she had lost the bet. But who had won? She glanced around at the table. Everyone looked confused except Jordan. "It's Ruelle, I told you. Pay up." She was whispering with a grin, and chuckling, Kara passed her the dollar note.

"I don't have any left." John looked sheepish.

On stage, Lucy raised the microphone to her lips and started to sing. Her voice was silken and sweet, melodious, sly. It was perfect for the song, which also sounded out of this world and surreal.

" _Come to me, in the night hours... I will wait for you_." She sang the opening lines, and Jordan whooped.

"She's actually so good - is there anything Lucy Lane can't do?" John whispered.

" _Oooohhhh_..." she sang in the lead up to the chorus. Now everyone was swaying their hands in the air, Alex also filming. John swept Maggie up from Alex's lap, causing some protests from the two, and they began to waltz clumsily. " _I can't help but love you, even though I try not to_..." she peaked at the chorus and everyone on that table whooped loudly whilst swaying their hands to the steady beat. Jordan began singing along, and Kara, who was right next to Jordan, thought she was also rather good at singing.

" _Oohhh_...." Lucy approached the ending, and by now the whole table was singing along, too. " _Ooooohhh_..."

"Yes, Lane!" John yelled as everyone jumped out of their seats, clapping, cheering, whooping. "Yes!"

"You go, Luce!" Jordan yelled. John hoisted Maggie onto his shoulders, who cupped hands over her mouth and shouted: "LUCY LANE! LUCY LANE! LUCY LANE!"

When she finally is back in her seat, looking rather triumphant, she turns to Kara "You're up."

"Me? Oh no, I er no er... pfttt yeah..."

Jordan swiftly cut off Kara's rambling "What the lady means to say is that she will be singing with me."

"I er... really?" She said flashing a grateful smile. Jordan's British accent is really quite charming.

"Sure c'mon Danvers."

Lucy quietly said away from their retreating backs "Is it bad I kinda want to ship it?"

For this she recieved multiple slaps from around the table.

The music started up and they all turned towards the stage, a phone already recording (it's Lucy's, don't tell Alex). The first few bars played. "I love Wicked!" Lucy exclaimed in anticipation.

" _Something has changed within me, something is not the same_..." Kara started nervously.

"Damn Danvers." Maggie said in awe.

"I didn't know she could sing so well." Said John.

"Hey, I had to put up with her shower singing for ages so you guys are lucky."

Everyone hushed while they continued. "I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game"

Jordan joined Kara on the chorus and they both sung out.

 _"It's time to try_  
_Defying gravity_  
_I think I'll try_  
_Defying gravity"_

"Jordan can sing too?" Alex whispered.

The others just nodded and Maggie grasped her hand, effectively shushing her.

 _"I'm through accepting limits_  
_'cause someone says they're so_  
_Some things I cannot change_  
_But till I try, I'll never know!"_

They all smiled because it was just so Jordan and Kara and because said people were standing in a bar at a karaoke machine singing their hearts out as if they were on Broadway, grinning and glancing at each other.

Lucy was still smugly recording and mouthing the words silently. This might not have been quite how they had expected the night to go but it certainly made for a good bonding experience.

 _There's no fight we cannot win_  
_Just you and I_  
_Defying gravity_  
_With you and I_  
_Defying gravity_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jordan is genderfluid hence why Maggie checks their pronouns. Comments and constructive criticism is much appreciated! The songs used are 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen, 'How to know if a girl is a lesbian' by Ally Hills, 'War of Hearts' by Ruelle and 'Defying Gravity' from Wicked.  
> -Beck


	8. Recruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family, new faces and complicated pasts?

Maggie and Alex were driving to pick August up from the DEO after their night out with the "cooking club". They had left at around 11 when the karaoke began to dwindle as they knew they couldn't leave August with Hank and Winn for too long, the only reason they had left her there in the first place was because Hank needed her so that he could sort out some things and pull some strings so that August didn't have to go back. Alex could see that after just meeting August a couple of days ago he was already a little attached and had to bite back an "I told you so" when he said that he wanted to look after the girl and let Maggie catch up with her friends.

"Told you he was gonna get attached." Kara said cheerily, greeting them as she walked past.

"Yeah." Alex smiled, searching the room and instantly finding Winn, who was trying to persuade August to play Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U.

"It's a good game," he was saying. "Look, I can show you the better car to choose..."

"Yeah, Winn isn't the best babysitter." Alex said sideways to Maggie, who was holding back a smirk at August's bemused face.

"Danvers, Sawyer." Hank said, walking up to Alex and Maggie quite briskly. "Social services are letting her stay for now."

"That's great." Maggie smiled.

"Of course, there are a bunch of official papers to be signed, and if we want to keep her here someone's gonna have to take her in, I'm assuming that will be you."

Alex exchanged a look with Maggie. She was excited (and slightly scared) by the idea, and both she and Maggie were feeling attached to the girl. She felt sorry and wanted to help her, but Alex hardly knew her.

"So, are we adopting her?" Kara breezed on into the scene, quite literally as she flew from the top storey.

"Woah! Hold up a sec also, she's watching." Alex glanced furtively towards August who was trying to listen in from across the other side of the room. Lowering her voice Alex looked pointedly at Kara, "We can't adopt her just like that we only just met!"

"I know, I know, I didn't mean officially," Kara said, waving off Alex's almost panic, "It's just... you know... she's a part of the family now right? If she's gonna live with you and all?"

This drew smiles from everyone as it was just so Kara.

"I think you're right, little Danvers."

.  
.  
.  
(a couple of days later)

It was a relatively quite day (or as quiet as it could get in National City anyway) and Alex was doing nothing in particular back at her apartment as Maggie was busy with some police work and Kara had gone to meet up with Jordan after that reunion. Suddenly, her phone rang and she picked it up. "Hey, J'onn... a new recruit? No, I wasn't going to say that you stole someone else... ok, I'll come."

Alex swiftly entered the grand building of the DEO, searching instinctively for Hank - there he was, deep in conversation with a young man, probably a couple of years younger than Kara. He was fairly athletic, tall and dark skinned, and as Alex approached the new recruit she noted the intelligent, surveying gleam in his eyes. He looked familiar but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before.

"Agent Danvers, this is Agent Hartley." Hank said in way of introduction. The two of them shook hands. "I'm Alex." Alex said with a smile. The man returned the warm smile. "Darren." He replied.

"So, you two will be working quite close together in operations." Hank said briskly, always down to business. "You two will be working in the field once we've trained you a little further, and Danvers, you wil become responsible for keeping Hartley alive out there. Hartley will also be helping out with strategies. Got it?" Both Darren and Alex nodded as Hank turned to talk to some other agents.

"So... don't worry about Hank, he'll pretend not to like you but will get attached real quick." Alex said sideways, and Darren grinned.

Before the two could say anything else, Alex heard Winn talking animatedly with August about Mario Kart as they walked into the room.

"No, you cheated. I saw you hacking into the programme so that you would come first place." August was saying with conviction.

"What, me? No." Winn scoffed, waving her off. "I'm just so good at playing it."

"Don't lie, you definitely-" August stopped abruptly, cutting off her sentence. Forgetting her previous conversation, her dark eyes filled with shock as she took in Darren, and he was gaping at her too, speechless.

Before Darren could say anything, August had turned on her heel and sped out through the door.

Impulsively, Alex followed her. "August, wait!"  
.  
.  
.  
August ran outside in a state of panic.

_It wasn't him. It wasn't him._

Running past greying buildings, tired store fronts and posters with colours that faded to murmurs in her escape.

_It couldn't be him. It couldn't._

Through people and streets, running until she was by the river and out of breath in a quieter part of the path.

 _It couldn't be. Except it could. He looked almost the same_.

She found herself sitting on a bench with her head in her hands trying to steady her breathing; hoping that being still would help calm her mind and let her breathe. The longer she sat the more her thoughts continued to run rampage.

_It had to be him._

Her hands should have stopped shaking and her wheezing should have quietened and yet, however collected she seemed to be to passers by, she was still jittering. Her breaths still falling short. Each one a painful struggle.

 _DARREN_.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any feedback is super welcome! Comments motivate us to write so... What do you think will happen next? What are your thoughts? Any mistakes? Constructive criticism is the best! :)  
> -Beck


	9. Children

_Nonononono_

Darren struggled to clear his mind, trying not to keel over with the shock of seeing her and the pain of those miserable years. August. August. It couldn't be. But yet, she had been there.

Seeing August and watching her run away was like opening up an old wound; he hadn't realised just how painful it would be. Leaving that life behind, and everyone in it; it would be better, he had told himself.

But this new life was like a scab, and seeing August again was picking away at it, at the transparent walls he created, painful as ever, if not more so. As Alex called out after her and left, he thought desperately:

_When would my past stop haunting me? When would I be free?_

But, with a sad resignation, Darren realised that the past always caught up on people, no matter how fast they run.

.  
.  
.

August hated the fact that she allowed her past to catch up on her, hated him, hated him for leaving and reappearing again after 5 years. Her hands were still slightly quaking, and her breath was ragged in her throat.

_Would this ever end? Just when she thought she could start anew._

Footsteps approaching her bench snapped August out of her rampaging thoughts. She tensed, ready to bolt if need be. Her aching leg protested and she growled under her breath.

"August." It was Alex, looking very concerned.

"No. I can't." August choked, voice hoarse though she hadn't spoken at all. Or had she? Was the screaming in her head her own screams?

"August, please. Let me help you." Alex said soothingly, sitting down on the bench next to her.

"It's him. I can't." August managed, and her breath came in short, ragged bursts.

"Who? What's going on?"

August forced herself to say his name. "It's him. Darren." She managed. "He was - is - my brother."

The two sat in silence for a moment, Alex mulling over what she'd just heard.

Alex ventured carefully, "What happened between the two of you?"

For a moment, August considered leaving, but just decided against it - what would running away solve? It just created more problems.

"He - he left me..." She trailed off, and the painful memory hit her like a bullet.

August watched her hands tremble until she saw them be enclosed by Alex's, grounding her. Wrapping tentative arms around the woman August felt herself hesitating and she was embraced by Alex. The floor was no longer moving, her breaths slowed and finally, she noticed the tears running down her face. They gathered leaving a puddle on the shoulder of a dark shirt. Her cheeks began to burn. She was big now. She mustn't cry.

Alex rubbed the girl's back and continued to hold her, rocking slowly. The bold child suddenly seemed far smaller than her height that was really only just short of Alex herself. An anger began to brew.

_Who dare hurt such a precious person?_

They were in some ways the same. It seemed life had a funny way of striking those who least deserved it.

_Who dare touch my child?_

August sighed and turned towards the river, hand tightly clasped onto Alex still.

"Would you like to tell me?"

"Maybe you can tell me about you as well?"

Alex felt her face twitching into a watery, wistful smile, she had been observing the August the past few days she had been living with her and Maggie. There was an innocence and a joy in those dark eyes, yet also a pain. A past of conflicted lies. Wise beyond her 11 years.

"I'll start." Alex said, gently. "What would you like me to tell you?"

August paused. "How about when you and Maggie first met?"

Alex smiled wistfully, recalling the turbulent days when she first started falling for Maggie. "It was wonderful. Well, we met at a crime scene investigating a murder that we suspected some aliens were involved in.

"But we soon became friends, going to the pub and playing pool. I beat her every time." This time, August smiled faintly with Alex.

"And?"

"At first, I didn't know what it was. I felt something deeper, something stronger for this amazing, bold, brave woman who I had the amazing luck to meet." August listened on, curled up next to Alex on the bench.

"She wasn't too sure about 'us' first." Alex continued. "There were definitely quite a few up and down moments. I was new to it, she wasn't. But we gave it time. Learnt about each other and the best ways to make each other happy. We still aren't perfect, but we're happy with each other, and that's what matters."

August smiled sadly a little. "I wish I knew that happiness." Alex listened on as August slowly began to open up and reveal things about her past.

"I dunno where I should start." August's face grew into a frown now that it was her turn to speak.

"Ummm... how about how you ended up where I first found you."

"I ran away from the hospital." She stated bluntly.

"Which wasn't the best idea. With an injury as well!"

August was collected enough to look a little sheepish, but the comforting squeeze of her hand contradicted Alex's reprimanding tone.

"I didn't want to go back." Her face turned frustrated.

"Where? The system? The foster home?"

"Either. I know it's silly and I know I'm too young to be allowed to live by myself, but I didn't want to go back to somewhere where people pretended to love me."

Alex got the feeling that the girl wasn't just talking about her experience in the system. Although their stories were different, Alex could see her sister in August; they both shared the pain of a family lost. Alex only hoped that she could help give August the family she help give to Kara.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! What would you like to see next? There should be some Kara and some Jordan coming soon.  
> -Beck


	10. Lunch

Jordan couldn't stop thinking about Kara from the moment they locked eyes at that pub several nights ago.

Her laugh, her sunny smile, her adorable face she made when she was flustered, her smooth, golden hair...

"You're doing that face again." Her roommate, Lucy, teased. "Don't let the chicken burn."

"Oh, right." Jordan turned over the chicken pieces with a wooden spoon, turning the stove down. The pan simmered softly.

"I know what that face means." Lucy sat down on the sofa, grinning triumphantly. "You're thinking 'bout Kara again, aren't you?"

"What? Uh, not really... ok, how could you tell?" Jordan sputtered.

"I've lived with you for the past couple years - did you really think I wouldn't notice?" She gave one of her beaming, knowing smiles. "Ask her out."

This took Jordan completely by surprise, almost making her knock over the pan. "Isn't that, uh, a bit sudden?"

"Just ask her out to a relaxed lunch or something. You got her number, right?"

"Yeah." Jordan, flustered, righted the pan and sprinkled in some parsley.

"Well, it's about time you make the move - why stare at the pictures you took when you could stare at her face in person?"

"You make me sound like a stalker." Jordan scoffed.

"Hey, I call it like I see it." Lucy laughed.

Jordan jokingly threw a block of cheese at Lucy's face in reply.

.  
.  
.

"Hello? Kara? You in there?" Alex waved a hand in front of Kara's face. Kara blinked and snapped back to reality. The two sisters were having sister night, and Kara had eaten most of the pizza before Alex could get any more.

"Sorry, what?" Kara cleared her throat awkwardly, flushing.

"I was saying, Maggie makes the best linguine, you have to try it. August loved it the other night." Alex shot Kara a knowing smile, and took a bite of her pizza slice.

"Yeah, sounds great." Kara said half-heartedly, mind already back on a certain person she couldn't stop thinking about. Her auburn hair was a really pretty shade, Kara thought to herself, and her freckles were so adorable, what would they look like in plain daylight?

"Ok, you're so doing the lovestruck face." Alex said decidedly, taking the last slice.

"Huh? What face? I'm, uh... no, I'm not doing anything, nothing at all, I'm not doing anything weird or thinking about something at all." Kara rambled, not convincing Alex at all.

"You're thinking of Jordan." Alex said.

"What? No. I mean, I don't have anything against Jordan, but like I'm not thinking about her, not like that, but I mean, she is super adorable and her obsession with mismatched socks is the best and-" Kara stopped. "Alex, why are you laughing?"

"Come on, you really should ask her out to dinner or something." Alex nudged Kara.

In surprise, Kara dropped her pizza slice. "What? No." She said for the second time that conversation.

"Yeah, don't tell me you haven't been bringing yourself to call her for the past 72 hours." Alex raised her eyebrow.

"I haven't! Although maybe I should call her, I didn't get to tell her about the fluffy socks I bought yesterday, and perhaps she might want to talk, or maybe she won't, I don't know, but- Alex, seriously, stop laughing!"

.  
.  
.

Later that day, Jordan reached for her phone and took a couple of slow, calming breaths to steel herself. Come on, Heyde. You can do this.

Tentatively, Jordan dialled Kara.

*"Calling Kara Danvers..."*

.  
.  
.

After Alex had left to check on August (who was staying at Maggie and Alex's apartment), Kara sat back and thought about what Alex had said. What did those meaningful looks actually mean? What was she hinting at? Kara eyed her phone, palms itching with the urge to call Jordan.

As if on cue, the screen lit up and her phone started buzzing. Her special ringtone for Jordan, Defying Gravity, pulsed through the room.

*"Incoming call from Jordan Heyde"

Kara took a breath, and clicked "answer".

"Hi, Jordan! I didn't think you'd call after that. Oh - not that I thought you hated me or something but I don't know, we didn't know each other that well but anyway I'm so glad you called but um I was actually about to call you to so yeah!" Kara managed to say all this in one go somehow. She was a little nervous but didn't know why.

Jordan's warm, gentle laugh came from the other side of the phone. "Woah, slow down, Danvers! Good to see you - well, hear you - again."

Kara grinned, relieved. "Hi."

"So, uh, I was thinking, maybe we should go out for lunch sometime? I haven't heard from you in a while."

Kara's heart was thumping violently against her ribcage. Something deep down was begging her to say yes.

"Of course. When?" She failed to keep her eager over-enthusiasm from her reply, inciting another laugh from Jordan.

"Tomorrow, if you'd like. Noonans?"

"Yeah, sure." Kara was grinning so broadly her face could split and she was brimming with happiness. "See you soon!"

"See ya." Kara pictured Jordan grinning adorably whilst saying this. A beep told her the conversation was finished for now, but Kara held the phone to her ear, almost feeling Jordan's warmth through the phone. Or maybe it was because her phone was overheating again? Rao, she needed a new phone.

.  
.  
.  
Kara nervously waited outside Noonans, about 10 minutes early. She anxiously adjusted her glasses and released a shaky breath. What puzzled her was why she was so nervous, even though it was merely a short, friendly lunch out with a friend. She shifted her handbag from one shoulder to the other and watched out for Jordan's telltale auburn hair amongst the bustling passer-by's. She was still standing there tugging at the sleeves of her blue shirt exactly 8 minutes (not that she was counting) later when she spotted Jordan.

Jordan was wearing some interestingly clashing colours with braces and a beanie despite the gentle sunshine. Kara grinned and waved before mentally scolding herself for being so dorky. Jordan simultaneously mentally chuckled at Kara's  adorkableness.

"Kara! Wow they don't call you 'Sunshine Danvers' for nothing huh?"

Kara blushed and lead her into the café.

"Seriously though you look really happy. Good day?"

"You're in it." The earnestness seemed to take them both a little by surprise "I mean er... you... heh... I'm glad we can properly become friends instead of both just knowing each other through Maggie and stuff."

"Yeah" Jordan smiled.

They sat down and just paused for a moment. Jordans hair was combed back and his shirt read 'Kill 'em with sarcasm.' Kara was sporting a braid and was wearing her favourite pair of, what Cat would refer to as, 'cheap pants'. They were only cheap because they were on sale.

"So, uh, I bought some fluffy socks the other day," Kara said rather randomly. Jordan cracked another grin.

"Colour?"

"Indigo. They're so comfy and fluffy!" Kara said, and feeling a little giddy on her unexplained happiness, she giggled.

"I am in need of new fluffy socks, you gotta tell me where you got them!" Jordan laughed lightly.

Something fluttered inside of Kara; this lunch out was going so well, she hadn't made any mistakes (as far as she could tell) and Jordan was being adorable as ever.

The two entered a rapt conversation about how fluffy socks were far better than any other type of sock that ever existed. ("I'm actually wearing mine right now - it's so much easier to walk!" Jordan had said.) As they ate a hearty lunch (Kara ordered more potstickers than was really necessary), the conversation shifted from socks to musicals.

"So... I set your ringtone as Defying gravity..." A blush spreads across Kara's face.

"So did I." Jordan chuckled. "I love Wicked it's not my favourite but it's so good!"

"I've never really seen that many musicals although I love the songs."

"That's a shame, we'll have to go together sometime. I've seen quite a few in London."

"Did you live in London?"

"I lived a bit North from there. A little more rural."

Kara nodded. "I've wondered what it would be like in England, I've never been."

Jordan smiled. "Lots of people go for the tea, but it's the scones and the cake you really want to try."

At the mention of food, Kara grinned. She finished off the last of her potstickers. "What's your favourite musical?"

"Well, I've seen quite a lot of musicals that've been amazing." Jordan pondered, then said, "I like The Lion King and Hamilton the best, I guess."

"I love the Lion King!" Kara gushed a little too excitedly.

"Who doesn't? The film was my childhood," Jordan chimed. "It's sooo good! And so different to what Disney had produced beforehand, its such an interesting concept."

Kara barely restrained herself from squeaking at his ultimate cute dorkiness; it was just so Jordan.

"I was actually wondering about that the other day." Kara admitted "I was just thinking what movies you liked and then I thought, I wonder if she likes the Lion King."

"He." Jordan carefully corrected, biting his lip.

"Huh." Kara paused for a second.

Jordan looked nervous "It's uh... I'm genderfluid. It's he today." He wondered why he felt so cautious he usually had a 'you have a problem then shove off' kind of attitude, but he really wanted Kara to understand.

"Oh!" Kara realised what she had done "I'm so sorry I forgot... I should have known."

"You don't have to know. I often don't dress that differently. You can't always just know. It's better to just ask." He smiled shyly.

"I'm sorry though." Kara was the nervous one now, she seemed devastated that she could have hurt Jordan's feelings. "I know about asking for your pronouns and I should have remembered."

Jordan leaned across the table and patted Kara's hand.

"It's alright. You say your gonna try and I believe you there. It can be confusing. There's simple words that you usually don't have to think about. Not everyone has days when they feel betrayed by how the world perceives them and by how my skin feels on my body."

Jordan didn't know how to explain the pain when people refused to listen, when his brain just shrugged when asked 'what today?' When how he felt didn't match his body. When his gender made sense in his head but his clothing stayed the same so no one knew.

"So if you're not there what should I use?" Kara asked.

Jordan gave a smile at the thoughtfulness "If in doubt neutral is usually good with anyone, but I don't really mind."

Kara squeezed his hand in return and they smiled slowly turning back to their previous topics.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ember wrote the whole first half of this and more she's amazing! I don't know why we felt this needed to happen we just did. Opinions? What do you want to happen next?  
> -Beck


	11. New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So short I know. Writing has been hard for some reason lately. Karamel is killing us, but no hard feelings if you ship them, it just won't be in this fic. Tell us what you want to read and we will probably write it!

It had been days since Darren and August had caught their first glimpse of each other in years, and Darren still couldn't forget the hurt and shock in his younger sister's eyes before she fled the building.

Winn was carrying out his daily surveillance by checking the DEO's satellites and security camera feeds. So far, nothing. Darren was sitting across from Winn, going through past cases and files. He had decided that if he was going to do well at this job, he might as well learn the backstories of the organisation.

"So," Winn said, pulling Darren's attention away from the screen. "I've been meaning to ask you. What's up with you and August? She's basically my Mario Kart sis, you know."

For a moment, he struggled to put together a reply. Tell the truth or avoid the question? Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably seconds, Darren replied: "August is my sister."

Winn blinked twice. "Woah. I did not know that - sorry, dude."

"Not many others know about that." Darren chewed the inside of his cheek - a habit whenever he felt uncomfortable under questioning.

"Uh... so, what happened between the two of you? I mean - uh - you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but you two don't seem like you're on good terms, and your surnames are different."

"I changed my surname to Hartley. It wasn't my birth surname." He said quietly. Winn nodded thoughtfully.

Darren seemed like a trustworthy guy, but Winn well knew that people could surprise you so he didn't trust the new agent completely. There did seem to be a noticeable melancholy vibe emanating from Darren over August's reaction which gave Winn more confidence that he genuinely didn't want to hurt the girl he claimed to be his sister.

"So..." Winn ventured carefully, a little curious to find out more about his new colleague, just in case. "You say she's your sister, but you change your surname and act like she's a ghost from your past. Why is that?"

More questions. Darren wasn't sure he was ready to tell the full story about his complicated family past. Some of the memories - especially the happy ones that shown what life could've been like - was just too painful. It was why Darren liked to dive into work to distract himself.

"Let's just say I lived a fairly normal 15 or so years until it all went to hell."

Winn said nothing but he nodded.

"My father died in a drunk-driving accident. My already unstable mother fell into a state of bad mental health so that she couldn't look after us anymore. She was drinking and probably taking stuff and she hung the blame of her sadness silently on us. Thats not healthy for any kid. August was young so of course to her and I guess to myself it seemed my fault for not doing anything about it; I was young, I didn't know what to do. She was 5, not yet old enough to know what really was happening to us. I had just turned 16 - barely old enough to survive without help, let alone support a little girl without the guidance of our parents. I left home leaving her with our mother; something I sincerely regret. When I found out mother had died I couldn't take her in had to leave her in the system for her own safety, and now she's returned somehow."

Darren was staring across the room, the worry and stress etched into his young face. He was much older than August but there was a definite similarity in their features.

"I don't know why I just told you all of that." He said turning to face Winn and shifting awkwardly.

"Amongst all these badass agents I can tend to appear extremely approachable."

The truthful teasing tone lightened the mood, drew a shared chuckle from the men and they gave a subconscious nod of respect to each other.

 


	12. Where to?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new routine, a trip to CatCo and friends both old and new.

August woke up at the sound of the shower running and she smiled at the hum of Maggie's voice in the kitchen. She had been living with Alex and Maggie for nearly two weeks now and despite the shock of Darren turning up a week ago she was enjoying life as a part, however temporary, of this crazy family. In all her eleven years she had never met more loving people than her... well she didn't know what to call them, but Alex and Maggie had made her feel loved. Kara even J'onn, John (that could get a little confusing at times), Winn and Lucy who she had only met a once, we're extremely welcoming.

Of course it had been weird at first; suddenly having two friends/ guardians/mother-figures that she was living with full time, but they had all grown closer and she felt that they probably knew her better than any foster parents or care workers she had previously had. The whole superhero thing had obviously been strange as well and she still found it ridiculous that Kara didn't manage to give it away to everyone she met, but August knew she would never reveal the DEO or Kara's secret identity.

Quite often, as Maggie was occupied at the local police station and Alex at the DEO, August was accustomed to spending time the DEO HQ, obviously for safety reasons.

Between her and her brother, who worked alongside both Winn and Alex, things were awkward. Most of the time, they skirted awkwardly around each other, which proved more difficult than expected as Winn was Darren's colleague and also her Mario Kart buddy. To avoid Darren, she took to playing by herself with random people online. August was fine with that. She didn't know when - or if - she would talk to Darren again. There were times when she wanted to drag him into a room, slap him around the face and demand why he did what he did, and there were times where she just moved as far away from him as possible so she could sort out the murky thoughts swirling in her mind. Of all the times she had imagined finding out why, she had never thought it would've been because he now worked at a secret alien-hunting agency. At least the others are supportive, she thought as she slowly climbed out of bed.

She glanced around her room--not her room--she mentally corrected herself. It was an office originally then, once Alex and Maggie moved in, doubled for a bedroom for visitors (usually Kara or John). The room was nice and had a window that took up most of the wall opposite the bed. Alex had taken August out yesterday to buy a comforter for her bed as when Kara was adopted Alex had realised how having your own things could easily make you feel more at home.

August thought to herself as she got dressed. Having had a patchy education during the last 5, almost 6 turbulent years, she knew that if she was going to settle in, Maggie and Alex might try to find her a school, once she was ready. She knew she couldn't avoid that conversation forever, as Hank was using his connections to tidy things up with the social workers. But for now, she was to spend her days at the DEO.

"Morning," Maggie greeted her as August entered the room. The overwhelming scent of waffles and cream spread aimlessly across the whole apartment, making August smile.

"This smells good," She nodded at the carefully assembled breakfast on the 3 plates on the worktop.

"Thanks, I'm just experimenting, something me and John were discussing the other day," Maggie smiled and snapped a picture, presumably to send to John.

"Woah- do I smell waffles?" Alex announced herself, hands combing through her wet hair, already dressed in her dark gear.

"Indeed you do, Danvers." Maggie winked at her girlfriend and sat down, helping herself to a plate.

"You gotta make more of this," August commented, already past halfway through hers. Oh, Maggie's waffles were a delight. "The strawberries make it so much better."

The three of them chuckled, exchanging grins, and Maggie quickly wolfed the rest of her breakfast down. "I would love to stay in and all, but I gotta go to the police station now. See ya later." She briefly hugged August and kissed Alex on the cheek, before grabbing her leather jacket and leaving the apartment.

"C'mon. Let's get going." Alex gathered up the plates and quickly washed them as August pulled on a borrowed jacket and her own shoes.  
.  
.  
.

As per usual, Alex quickly headed off to get the latest alien report from Hank and August drifted near Winn's computer as he talked all about the shortcuts he had found on the tracks. She found herself zoning out. Mario Kart was fun and all, but  right now she really wanted to go out into the fresh air and do something. What, she didn't know, but August was feeling a little restless after being cooped inside for so long.

"Hey August?"

"Sorry?"

"You just zoned out a bit there." Winn looked at her knowingly. "Bored?"

August shrugged and produced a lopsided grin.

"Hey!" Kara suddenly appeared behind Winn "You called?"

"No. I didn't say your name."

"I know, but I heard that 'Gus here is bored and they don't call me the fun master for nothing."

"Where did you come from?"

"No one calls you that."

"Guyyyyyys I was trying to be all cool and slide into your conversation." She pulled a pout that looked simultaneously cute and ridiculous.

August took pity on the woman "I think you're super cool Kara."

Winn gave her a look, but the grin on Kara's face lit up the entire room.

"Thank you. Ya know people don't give you enough credit, you are extremely smart for 11 years old." Winn rolled his eyes at this and Kara, ignoring him, continued, "I happen to be free to take you to lunch once I have dropped a couple of things back at CatCo."

"Uh, sure," August shrugged a bit. "I've been dying to actually be able to do something."

"Let's go now, if you want." Kara smiled warmly and adjusted the bag strap on her shoulder. The two nodded at each other and stepped outside of the DEO. Smiling, August rolled up the sleeves of her hoodie as the sun's warmth washed over them. Finally; she was out in the fresh air, free to see National City without constantly glancing behind her shoulder for cops or social workers.

"The sun sure feels good," Kara grinned, as the Earth's sun was the reason she had her powers.

"Yeah, it does." August answered and the two began walking towards CatCo.

Kara and August strolled into the CatCo building with relaxed smiles on their faces; the pleasant weather reflected their mood.

"You're a reporter, right?" August asked as she took in her surroundings: rows of pristine white desks, sleek computer screens sitting atop of the tables, wide windows taking up the majority of the walls, reporters and assistants and other members of staff walking around and talking. It reminded August a little bit of the DEO, albeit brighter, sunnier and more relaxed. 

"This is a nice place to work." she commented as she followed Kara through the lobby.

"The view is better on the higher floors; that's where I work." Kara replied, pressing the lift button. The metal doors opened with a sudden ping and the two entered the lift.

Chatting amicably, they exited the lift. Kara turned into the glass-walled office where Cat used to work, taking some papers off the desk. Looking up to talk to August, Kara jumped as she saw a familiar figure that she hadn't seen in a few years.

"Cat!" She exclaimed loudly. "I didn't know you had returned!"

"I arrived a couple of hours ago, I need to check how the company was doing." Cat Grant adjusted her glasses and squared her shoulders confidently in a way only she could. "How's being a reporter going for you Keira?"

"Uh, apart from Snapper being his usual self, I'm quite enjoying it." Kara nodded at her boss.

Cat noticed August standing hesitantly next to Kara. "And who is this?"

Kara and August exchanged panicked glances: how were they going to explain this without giving away too much?

"Um, uh, this is August and she's, uh, kinda my niece."

Cat raised an expectant eyebrow at her. "Hmmm."

"I mean, uh," she tried to string together an explanation but instead dived into awkward stuttering. "Not like my blood related niece, but like she's living with my sister and that, um, heh, sort of makes her my niece?" Kara shrugged awkwardly. August watched on with an expression that was half amused and half tentative.

Cat smirked a little, moving to sit at her desk. "Alright." At this August by back a laugh: flustered Kara was ultimately smol Kara.

Kara shuffled a little on the spot, "Erm... I've missed you. I mean, not that, you could, well-"

"Its good to see you too."

They both smiled though one of them managed to look rather more composed.

"Eh hem."

"Oh right, so er like I said this is August and we're going out."

Another eyebrow raise.

Kara spluttered, realising what she had said,"I mean not like, we just,she's 11, I don't-"

This time it was August who cut off Kara's ramble. "She didn't have anything to do right now and offered to come to lunch with me."

Cat looked over at August who seemed more confident since walking in and smiled. The CEO had always had a soft spot for children and she realised that Kara must get on fairly well with her niece(?) for August to have the ability to easily cut off Kara. Her ex-assistant could have ended up mumbling for 10 minutes and slowly stumbling backwards out of the room (yes that had happened before).

Though Kara had often mentioned her sister Alex to Cat, especially once Kara was no longer Cat's assistant and they became better friends(?), she had not mentioned a child so Cat assumed whoever August was she was a recent addition to the family.

"Ah, speaking of lunch, Carter could come with you; I don't think he'd want to stay cooped up in here for too long." Cat said, mentally toying with the possibility that her son and Kara's "niece" could befriend each other.

Kara's face lit up. "Yes - that'll be great!" August looked a little confused as she didn't know who they were talking about.

"I'll go get him now." Cat walked out of the office, calling for him. Moments later she returned with someone in tow behind her.

"Carter!" Kara exclaimed, a grin lighting up her face as she recognised the boy. "Woah, you've grown since I last saw you!"

Carter grinned back and it seemed to come more freely than it had the last time Kara had seen him. "Well it's been, what, a couple of years now?"

"Yes, she hasn't seen you for much longer than she hasn't seen me as I checked in numerous times to make sure her and Olsen hadn't destroyed the building." Cat answered Carter despite knowing that it wasn't really a question. Carter liked to keep track of time.

"But we're staying here aren't we mom." A statement not a question. Of course Carter would know exactly what was happening, Kara thought, she knew he liked to plan for everything and that did not appear to have changed despite the fact that he was now much taller and even a teenager.

A glimmer of a caring smile flitted across Cat's face; her son was pretty much the only person she would openly show affection for. "Yes, for now we will stay here." She answered. "You are going to actually go to lunch instead of impersonate a statue, right, Keira?"

"Oh, uh, yes." Kara flushed awkwardly and adjusted her bag strap. "Ok, I should probably do introductions or something. Um, August, this is Carter, Cat's son, and Carter, this is August, my sort of niece."

August smiled. "Do you play Mario Kart?" She wasn't sure what else to start with.

"Yeah." He returned the smile.

"I can tell we're gonna get along." She beamed. Kara tried not to squeal at how adorable these two were being.

Cat cleared her throat. "I do have some important paperwork to fill out and as much as I enjoy friendly reunions and meetings, it would be very hard to finish said paperwork with constant chatter in my ears."

Sensing the dismissal, Kara quickly lead the two towards the lift. "Ok, where do you guys wanna go? Noonans?"

"Yeah, sure." Carter shrugged.

"I don't mind." August said.

Together, the trio sauntered out of the building and headed for Noonans. "So - how have you been?" Kara asked Carter, wanting to know what he'd been up to away from National City.

"Nothing much happened. I really missed this place. I didn't have much friends here but you can't find another Supergirl anywhere else." His cheeks flushed pink ever so slightly. At this, Kara quickly remembered his "crush" on her own alter-ego (not that she'd forgotten that moment) and suppressed a laugh.

"You're a fan of Supergirl! Same!" August was careful to not give Kara's identity away. "She's so badass."

"And she's, uh, quite pretty too, you know?"

August gave Carter an incredulous look. "Wait - do you. Have. A. Crush. On. Supergirl?" She said this all very dramatically, amusement dancing on her face.

"You both know anyway, so there's no point in denying it." He said awkwardly. Kara took pity on the boy and quickly changed the subject.

"So, you two both like Mario Kart." She said the first thing that popped into her head.

"Please tell me you're good." August said.

"I've completed nearly all the courses and came either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in them all." Carter said, warming to the subject. You?"

"I don't do 2nd place." The familiar competitive glint in August's eye returned as she talked.

"That's a shame," Carter said, "You're going to have to get used to it if you play against me." Kara smiled: the boy had come further out of his shell since the last time she'd seen him.

"Another Mario Kart buddy? Oh heck yes - someone other than Winn can play! You see I swear he always hacks into the programme so he gets to win them all..."

The two dived into an excitable discussion about the game, complete with animated hand gestures and facial expressions. Kara was glad the two had easily warmed to each other and was chatting away as if they'd known each other for years.

.  
.  
.

Kara sat back in her seat, happily full and listened in to Carter and August's conversation. They had quickly moved on from mario kart as, while a useful ice breaker, it is not the most complex game and despite the one and a half year age difference, the two had each found the other person most fascinating.

"So," August was saying as she finished off her meal. "What was it like, being the son of the 'Queen of all Media'?"

"Well, uh, despite my mom's reputation and popularity,but I guess also a bit because of it, I never really had a lot of friends." Carter shrugged a little as he talked. "I kinda just, I don't know, shied away from people, I guess. I prefered predictable things I was familiar with and well... I've always been a little different. I wasn't stupid I knew what kids said about me at school."

August nodded thoughtfully. "I get what you mean. The unknown really can unnerve people. And being the unknown can be even worse."

As the girl spoke, Kara listened in with interest. She could definitely relate to being plunged into the scary unknown: Krypton exploding, being lost in space, trying to fit into a new environment. The first couple of years she had struggled to adjust and adapt, so she had an idea of what they were talking about. It was hard, but Kara could already see that August was a clever girl and strong, perhaps too strong for her age, like Kara was, hardened from the pressure of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. While the weight August carried may not be of a world quite as literally as her own was, Kara knew that living with secrets, pressure and fear that young could affect you much deeper than people realise. Pressure could crush you to pieces yet it could also make diamonds.

"What about you and your family?"

At the question, August shifted uncomfortably. Alex and Maggie had told Kara about the situation with Darren and how the two siblings could barely talk to each other.

"Um, let's say my family is rather complicated." August frowned a little and paused. She had known Carter for less than a day and had already taken a liking to the boy; but she didn't really know how to explain something so personal to someone she'd just met.

"I have two separated parents and a brother double my age, but I think I'm really lucky to have my mom."

"Yeah I reckon you are..."

Carter shot his younger friend an awkward, but comforting glance, "So uh, you're living with Kara?"

August warmed at this, the haunted look shaken off in a blink.

"Nah. I'm living with Maggie and Alex."

"So Kara's sister and... who's Maggie?"

"Alex's girlfriend." August looked across the table at Carter as if challenging him to say something.

"Oh right so that's who you and Kara were talking about on the walk here."

"We were?"

"Yeah. You know, vegan ice cream?" He scrunched up his nose at this and pulled a face at the idea of vegan ice cream.

"She gave me some the other day, it's not that bad..."

Kara sat forward in her chair and snorted.

August laughed "I think Maggie's the only person who likes it."

"Yeah, it's an acquired taste."

The three just laughed lightly for a moment, halcyon and care-free as if they had all the time in the world.

"So will you be starting school here, then?" Carter asked August, curious.

"I don't really know what's gonna happen, to be honest. According to Maggie there's still lots of paperwork to be filled out, and even if I did join a school I'd have to catch up and stuff."

"Catch up?"

"You see, my education is... patchy. I wouldn't be able to join middle school right away." That was all August would reveal about her mysterious past before she averted eye contact and looked down at her hands.

For a moment, Carter sat back and contemplated the girl sitting across from him. They had several similar interests, but she had never said anything about her herself. He noted the way she avoided answering questions about her life before Kara and Alex and Maggie. He noted the way August's eyes were filled with a wisdom, a dragging weight from something she shouldn't have to bear. He noted the tough way in which she seemed to brush things off as quickly as she could.

He wondered what had happened to her in the past, to make her this tough and mysterious and interesting and bold.

And he was glad he befriended her.

Kara reached out and put a reassuring hand on top of August's, smiling gently. "Don't worry, we're gonna figure it out."

Feeling the warmth of her sunny smile, August smiled back and slightly touched at the supportive, caring moment, Carter smiled a little too.

"In the mean time," Kara checked her watch, "I think we should head back to CatCo before your mom thinks I've kidnapped you."

All three chuckled at that, and together, they sauntered out into the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We didn't update for ages again. At least there's not a lot of people reading this. 


	13. Family

Lucy was in a very care-free mood this morning.

She had rolled out of bed pumped and ready to go. She'd then proceeded to make breakfast for Jordan, who had not yet woken up. Lucy found herself in a rather musical mood and soon was zipping through her favourite Ruelle tracks as she went.

"Bring on the fire and bring on the storm,  
We'll still be here when its all said and done." She sang.

"You're in a good mood today." Jordan commented, making Lucy spin around and abruptly stop singing.

"Oh, morning. Pronouns?"

"Morning. Um, neutral. Damn, that smells so good." Jordan grinned at the pancakes that Lucy was piling up on two plates. Lucy grinned back and pulled the syrup bottle and Nutella jar from the cupboard.

"How much syrup do you want? There's like none left."

"Then... just squirt it all out and see what comes out." Jordan shrugged.

"To spontaneous syrup squirting." Lucy held up the bottle and shook it before emptying its contents on Jordan's pile of pancakes. A rather dismal streak of syrup came out.

"Uh..." Lucy shook out the bottle. After confirming it was completely empty she threw it into the bin.

"Oh... well... a little goes a long way?" Jordan said, eyeing the small amount of syrup they had salvaged.

"Mwahaha." Lucy cackled as she opened up the Nutella jar, which was full as she'd brought it yesterday.

"Luce. You know how I have like no sauce, and that your jar is enough to last us weeks..." Jordan began, tilting their head and widening their eyes. They even went as far as to pout a little.

Lucy relented, sighing, a smile creeping up on her lips. "Alright. I get to choose the film for next movie night."

"Deal." Jordan scooped out a rather generous amount of Nutella and spread it onto the pancakes.

"The heck... did you just use half of it up?" Lucy peered into the jar.

"The glass is half full, not half empty, my friend."

"Where did you even get all your quotes from?"

Jordan just winked. "I know plenty more."

"Oooohhhh you're smooth today. The look isn't quite selling it though." She replied smirking.

Jordan glanced down at their oversized t-shirt and Harry Potter pyjama trousers before looking to Lucy, a comically fake wounded expression across their face. "I'll have you know the grunge look is totally in at the moment and"-catching a glance at their reflection in a mirror haphazardly decorated in post-it notes Jordan didn't bother to suppress a groan "and so is terrible bed head."

Lucy continued to tease them "Jor, there is no way that look could have ever been 'in', well actually... you're English and I heard things are different there..."

The morning light was streaming into their shared apartment giving everything a new shiny feel and bathing the two squabbling residents in a pleasant warmth.

"Me English?" A sarcastic scoff and the extremely poor attempt at an American accent caused both of them to chuckle.

"They said in that accent, wearing those pants and waiting for me to make tea because they can't be bothered to do it themself."

"Okay, you win, I still haven't lost my accent."

Suddenly the two were interrupted by a loud knock on the door, followed by a familiar "Time to rise, sunshines!" Through the letterbox.

Lucy and Jordan exchanged smirks. More obnoxiously loud knocking.

"Chill, John, we are alive. Didn't know you cared that much." Lucy teased, getting up and opening the door. John was waiting, already dressed and looking far too hyper already for ten in the morning.

"Oh, but I do," he said.

"Precisely how much coffee did you actually have this morning? And why the heck are you already so alert? It's Saturday." Jordan said, finishing off their pancakes. When Lucy turned to lock the door, Jordan quickly lifted a few off Lucy's pile.

"About 4, to be precise. 5 if you don't want yours?" He looked longingly at Lucy's cup.

"No." She drank it down to the dregs. "Wait - I swear I had more pancakes."

"You must've been hungrier than you thought." Jordan suggested. John coughed.

"That's it. I am not making you tea, you pancake thief." Lucy caught on to them straight away, fake tutting.

"No! I absolutely must, I am dying of thirst." Jordan mock complained, even putting the back of their hand to their forehead for extra impact.

"C'mon, Luce, Jordan clearly cannot make it through the day without tea." John said.

Lucy grumbled, but fetched the milk and Jordan's mug anyway. "Why are you always so early?"

"Because you two look so irresistibly cute in the morning."

"C'mon their hair is well... Defying gravity." Lucy commented gesturing towards her roommate.

John eyed Jordan's hair suspiciously as if something could emerge at any moment. "Speaking of, you and Kara were amazing at that song."

"Oh, uh, thanks. Kara was made to sing, I swear." Jordan tried flattening their hair to no avail.

"You too, tho, Jo! That song was practically made for you two." Lucy agreed with John, whilst pouring water into the kettle. "And you two are sooo clearly made for each other..."

Jordan sputtered, thankful they had finished eating or they would've choked on something.

"That was subtle." John snorted.

"C'mon, John, you ship it too."

"Well, duh. Adorable smol bean meets adorable smol nerd. Perfect match." John sat back, satisfied with his logic.

"Yep. Can't argue with that logic." Lucy nodded, switching the kettle on before hunting through the cupboard for a tea bag.

"We're just friends. That's all." Jordan began, a flush creeping up their neck.

"Ahhhh, but is that all?" John grinned his ridiculously wide grin.

"Uh, yeah..."

"YOU HESITATED." Lucy called out over the simmering kettle. "You he-si-tat-ed."

"Ooohhh, what ya keeping from us, Jo-jo?"

"Oh my god, you two. You're relentless."

Two over-eager grins greeted Jordan in reply.

"Well... your back in the same city as James who you were so enamoured with."

Lucy just shot them a 'don't you dare' kind of look.

"Luuuuce," John whined "We didn't even get to live vicariously through you guys' romance very much because you were busy being smart and lawyer stuff."

Jordan pouted at her as well "and then you went back to being daddy's army girl some more."

Lucy gave a weak smile.

In a matter of seconds, the atmosphere had gone from teasing and playful to somber and a little bit awkward. Lucy fidgeted a bit.

"Yeah, uh," she managed faintly, not really knowing what to say to that. Lucy felt her composure slipping away. She certainly wasn't proud now of what she had helped her father do, but then, she had felt an unconditional duty towards helping her father, until she had realised there was something wrong. Turning her back on her father had proved to be difficult, but Kara and James and the others had been relying on her. It was hard, finding out that the person you idolised wasn't the glorious hero you thought they had been.

John sensed her mood change and brushed her arm "We're just messing Luce, we love you and you have made some hard decisions with you're family, but you need to trust you have done the right thing."

Lucy had a fragile, barely existent relationship with her dad which is something she had spent a long time avoiding; dutifully siding with him from the rebellion of her older sister until his views were too different to hers for her to pretend any different. "I know... it's just family is on my mind a bit at the moment."

Jordan offered a tentative smile and all three of them shared a hug.

"I guess our families all mess us up a little bit."

"Not this family."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to all those who are reading this fanfic! It's about time I introduced myself as the co-author of this fic and you guys can call me Ember because I really like that word as a code name ;)  
> What do you guys want to see in the next chapter? We're thinking more Sanvers (obviously! Who doesn't love a little bit of Sanvers?) and August going to school perhaps? Please leave any suggestions/improvements below :)  
> ~Ember


	14. Dawn Chorus

Maggie loved the feeling of waking up, warm and safe and contented and happy, wrapped in Alex's arms.

Alex felt Maggie stir and slowly blinked awake, smiling sleepily at her.

"Morning."

"Morning."

Maggie smiled and leaned in, her lips lightly brushing Alex's. She savoured the warmth and the feel of Alex idly running a hand through her hair and sighed contentedly.

It was a Sunday, so the two were not really that surprised when Maggie reached over and checked the clock on the bedside table that read: 10:23.

"You in a waffles mood? Eggs and bacon?" Maggie asked as she rolled back over to face Alex.

"Eh... eggs and bacon. Can I help this time?"

A dimples grin. "Didn't need to ask, Danvers."

They were startled properly awake and alert by some over enthusiastic knocking.

"God, if John's here to terrorise us..." Maggie muttered as she climbed out of bed reluctantly. "Jo texted me yesterday and warned me he might be coming."

"Well, he seems like the sort that knocks so loudly like they want to pound the door down..." Alex shrugged as the knocking ensued again.

Padding footsteps, and August's face peeked in the room, her curls even more mussed with sleep. "Um... who's that at the door?"

"I'll get it." Maggie said, stopping to pull some leggings on, just in case it wasn't John and she ended up answering a random stranger with only an oversized tee on.

The three trooped into the open expanse of the flat and Maggie continued on to open the door.

"Hiiiiiii!!" John said brightly as the door opened. "I'm here!" Maggie, being used to this, didn't even flinch. Alex, however, raised an eyebrow whilst suppressing a laugh. August just looked plain confused.

"At least you didn't sing Adele out of tune this time, that was horrendous! What brings you here at half past ten?" Maggie stepped aside to let him in.

"You know I like checking up on my lovelies." He said, sipping his coffee. "Jo-jo and Lucy yesterday were thrilled to have me also, like always."

"Yeah... no." Maggie smirked as she walked into the kitchen. "Sorry."

John feigned shock, mouth open, hand on chest. "Whatever could you mean?"

Alex snorted. "Seriously, John, how are you so alert already? We literally just woke up ten minutes ago."

"7, to be precise." August added. August had heard of Maggie's friend John before but this was the first time she had actually seen him and to be entirely honest, she wasn't quite sure what to think.

"Well, to answer your question, Miss Danvers. There's the most brilliant invention ever invented. It's called caffeine." Another sip.

August sat down into a chair, listening to the easy flowing banter. Maggie and Alex proceeded to make breakfast in the kitchen. John set down his coffee cup and sat down next to August.

"So August, a pleasure to finally meet you properly. How are you this fine auspicious morning?"

"Uh... fine."

"Don't you listen to Mags she loves me really it's just..."

"Too early?" August supplied sassily.

"My, my haven't we got a fiesty one."

August rolled her eyes and stretched out her limbs with a big sigh.

"And by the way, ten in the morning is barely what I call early." John added.

"I don't understand the morals of early risers." Maggie sassily quipped from the kitchen.

Alex laughed. "Well, it's what we call an atrocious time to be alert before."

"I rest my case." August said.

Maggie cracked open the eggs with expertise. The fizz of the pan filled the air, as did the smell of bacon and omelettes. August smiled: she loves mornings with these two amazing women, just relaxing and cooking breakfast and having a good time.

August then turned back to John. Something about him nagged at the back of her mind, until she remembered.

"Wait, John. You were at the hospital, weren't you? Before Alex and Maggie found me." She said.

John rubbed at his neck, the awkward action almost apologetic. Not quite. "I er... believe I mentioned you to Maggie actually..."

"Oh I remember that!" Maggie exclaimed from the stove.

It wasn't that long ago, but August felt that her world had changed so much that she might as well have been living with Alex and Maggie for years.

Alex walked over to August and perched on the arm rest and ruffled August's dark hair. John saw the look of fondness on Alex's face and hummed happily to himself as one of his favourite person's favourite person leaned against one of her favourite people. He didnt know how they all came together so well but he knew all three of them were up there somewhere in the favourites. John shook his head to rid himself of confusing, caffeine fueled thought trains.

Maggie brought plates to the tables and Alex sprung up again to land a kiss on her lips.

"Ew."

"Yeah keep your adorableness away from us."

"Anyway," Maggie said, " John first planted the little seed in my head about taking you in. I mean not you specifically, but when I met you a tree grew."

"Such a beautiful analogy of nonsense." August was touched, but rolled her eyes.

"She has too much sass for an eleven year old." John remarked.

"Agreed." Alex and Maggie chimed in unison.

"Nearly twelve." August corrected.

Everyone turns to stare at her. Her birthday had never really come up in conversation and they never really talked about the past.

Something dawned on Alex. "Has Kara been notified of this?"

August looked confused, "Er no? Why would she need-"

Alex John and Maggie all glanced at each other.

"She's gonna-"

"Yup."

"Again."

John turned back to the confused girl "So when's your birthday chipmunk?"

"Actually... its the 31st of July." August smiled and shrugged. "I was due on the 1st of August, but... I was eager to come out into the world, I guess."

"Wait..." John said. "So your birthday's in July... How come you're called August? Oh crap, that came out weirdly." He said when he saw Maggie's expression.

"No, it's ok." August smiled a little. "I get that all the time. I don't really know - I, um, never really got a chance to ask my parents."

They knew better than to ask for more details: they knew August would reveal more when she was ready.

Sensing the changing somber mood change August quickly said: "But don't worry. About my birth parents, I just want to keep it in the past where it belongs." She smiled, a thin mask to cover up how much memories of her family really hurt to think of; of what had been, of what could've been and what could never be.

Maggie smiled and squeezed August's hand, as did Alex. "Well, you got us now." August smiled back: still slowly getting used to this bond the three of them shared.

John sipped his coffee after a moment. "Sorry... for bringing that up."

"Nah, it's ok." She waved it off.

"About your birthday, though... which is coming in a couple of weeks..." Alex pointed out. "We gotta do something."

"But don't let Kara plan it." Maggie laughed lightly. "Last time-"

"Oh, God, that was..." Alex shook her head, remembering Kara's rather enthusiastic but overly extravagant birthday planning, especially for Alex's previous birthday.

"Yeah, let's not let that happen again. From what I heard," John added, "she really puts effort into things."

"She means well, but, ya know, gets a bit overly excited?" Alex said. August could clearly picture all of this from what they were saying and laughed. If Kara wasn't a reporter at CatCo she would probably be a wedding planner or something.

"Yeah." Maggie grinned. "Definitely."

"I'll help you guys plan it." John offered. "I promise I won't put karaoke down for an idea." Seeing Maggie's incredulous look he said, "No, seriously!"

"You didn't just put it down, you practically slammed it down. I still remember Jo's party celebration and how you were so adamant on planning that one." She said.

"No, I think karaoke would be quite funny to watch." August shrugged. "And Kara should join forces with you, John, for planning - that would be even funnier!"

"See? The sassy thing agrees." John said smugly. "But the whole point of karaoke is to partake in it."

"Or film your friends and embarrass them for eternity." Maggie flourished her phone. "Alex sent me the video, the one from last time."

"Oh my god, play it." Alex said.

"Ooh yes." August leaned in.

John shrugged as the video started to play back, the audio quality slightly grainy but none of them minded. "So? Who doesn't want to hear my amazing singing voice? Like, move over Michael Jackson..."

The other three just snorted as John in the video reached the chorus, singing out of tune and time but enthusiastically nonetheless.

"See? Told ya I was good." John said with a shrug.

"Good is... one way to interpret it. I'd think you'd be better off doing screamo songs instead." Maggie suggested, patting his head.

"Eh... don't think it would make a difference, really." August snorted.

"I'm just so fabulously talented, that's what, I could do any genre."

"Well..."

"Don't deny it Mags - you secretly love it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So sorry for not updating in ages, we haven't had much inspiration lately, aka too many ideas just randomly whirling around in our heads that makes it impossible to decide and write sometimes (anyone else get that?) If anyone has any ideas for the storyline or a paring etc. please comment below! There's gonna be some angst soon btw ;)  
> ~Ember


	15. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School, family and confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: contains mention of alcoholism and emotional abuse.

August adjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder, taking in the large school building. Though the summer term was nearing its end, Maggie and Alex had suggested trying school out to help her settle in, to help her feel a sense of normalcy again.

"You ready?" Maggie smiled, standing next to her as she took it all in. Alex and Kara were busy with DEO stuff, so Maggie offered to walk August to school. She nearly said no, but August surprised herself and said yes: she was tired of doing things alone.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Ok, well, good luck." Maggie embraced August and the two stood there together for a moment. "I'll meet you right here when school finishes. Do you want to go see the principal for your timetable together, or...?"

"Um, sure."

.  
.  
.

"Ok, so as you no longer need to study for finals now that they've passed, we're going to do a relaxed and rather interesting topic." The ethics and philosophy teacher, Mrs Kingsley, said. "We're going to be taking a brief look at families and relationships."

August immediately felt uncomfortable.

"We won't look at it in too much detail as if you choose to take this topic later in high school, you'll explore this topic in much more detail, but for the next few weeks until the holidays, we'll be discussing what we know about families and relationships, and how important they are in our every day lives. This lesson, we'll start with talking about families."

Chatter broke out across the class.

"Quiet down, please. We'll be doing family trees this lesson."

There was a clamour of pencil cases being unzipped, pens being uncapped and paper being handed out. The pupils started talking excitedly about the number of cousins they had and how old their aunt was, but August didn't know what to do. There was no way her birth family could count as her actual family any more - she felt closer to her new friends now than any blood relative she had. But how would she explain if someone asked, and what was she going to do?

So at the end of her lesson, her paper was still blank, pen having hovered centimetres off the page for the whole hour.

"If you haven't finished your trees, please do it at home for next lesson."

August clicked her pen and packed up, ever so subtly covering her blank work with another book, sliding it into her bag. How was she going to complete her homework when she could barely tell up from down when it came to her personal life?

Ask Alex and Maggie, she thought. They'd know what to do.

.  
.  
.

"How'd it go?" Maggie asked as the two met at the gate.

"It was alright." August shrugged. "I've got some work I have to do to catch up, and some homework. The other kids seem nice enough."

"So... no problems, then, I hope?"

"Well... um, I need your advice for something."

Maggie nodded thoughtfully. "Ok."

"So, we have to do a family tree for homework, and, well, you know..." August shrugged, trailing off, knowing Maggie would know what she meant. "What should I do?"

They had reached their apartment and Maggie was unlocking the door. "Hm, there are different meanings of family when it comes down to it. And friends... they're family, too."

August nodded, thinking, as Maggie managed to unlock the door and the two stepped in, setting bags and keys on the table. Alex had left a note saying she had gone to get more groceries.

"So... I think whoever you view as family, whoever you feel at home and close and comfortable with - that's your family. It's not always blood relations - friends are also something special." Maggie said, putting an arm around her. She smiled warmly at August, who returned the smile. "And I sense that smoothing things down with Darren would help." She continued gently. "You may not see him as the brother you used to see him as - but I'd think knowing the full story would put you at peace."

Maggie knew August had been pretending that not talking to Darren, who had just appeared back into her life, had not been bothering her and neither her nor Alex had been convinced.

August nodded, knowing there was truth in Maggie's wise words. She had never really been at peace with what had happened - some details were still blurred over memories she couldn't quite reach, things that had been hidden from her.

"I think I know what to do." She said with finality.

"I'll talk to Al ok? And we'll sort anything you need."

August nodded in reply.

.  
.  
.

Neither one of them moved towards one another. Why should she? August thought. Why?

Wasn't that the million dollar question.

Why?

Darren took in his sister's appearance. She had grown so much since he had last seen her. Wild, messy dark curls that reminded him so much of their mother, tall, bordering on gangly build - that had been from their father. Her fierce dark eyes that held a wisdom no other person her age had, a certain fire that still smouldered despite everything.

Despite what he had done.

Did she know? Did she understand?

She probably didn't. That was why she had ran away the moment they had lain eyes on each other. Why she looked at him with fear and hatred and confusion. Darren could read the question in her troubled eyes, clear as day: Why?

August finally allowed herself to look her brother properly in the eye, something she was doing whilst drawing from whatever courage she had left. He looked almost the same. Tall and fairly athletic - she remembered that he had been on the cross-country team, hair cut close to his scalp. The hazy memories she had of him told her that he had been a wild soul, yearned for freedom. But now, she could clearly see he was being weighed down by something that hadn't been there before, that much was clear.

But there was so much more she needed to know. So much more she didn't understand.

Why had he left her? Did he really kill their mother? And what of their father?

Why?

August could barely bring herself to speak. She held his gaze, looked into his eyes filled with concern and guilt and other emotions she could only guess at. So many questions whirled around in her head, almost attacking her, she had to know. Too long had she been kept in the cold, cold, dark; too long had she held this hatred in her heart.

Too long had she been running.

Too long had he been hiding.

It was time to face the past and find out exactly what had happened. She couldn't do this anymore. She needed to sort this out.

She only managed to say one word, her voice cracking as she desperately tried to keep her composure.

"Why?"

Darren looked down at his hands. August watched every movement, wary, tense, coiled up like a spring. There was no way she was going to let her guard down. Not now, not ever. She eyed his split knuckles, probably from DEO training, the cuts and scabs, the way his body was tensed in the way that hers was. His eyes lifted and tracked her movements. They were mirroring each other, they may as well have been circling each other in the boxing ring, waiting for the next words, the next strike.

"Why?" She repeated, trying her hardest to keep her voice still, to smooth out the tremors.

"How much do you know?" He said, voice hoarse. Answering a question with a question. Slippery.

"You left me."

Three words that hammered nails into his soul. He willed himself not to flinch at her accusatory tone, bracing himself for what else was to come. Darren guessed he deserved it. His sister had gone so long, not knowing what was the truth and what wasn't.

"I... I did."

It had haunted him but where could he have taken her? He got by alone, but with a small child... he knew it would never have worked, but he wished he had found a way. He at least shouldn't have let her stay with their mother any longer.

"Why? Was it because you killed-"

"Killed?" He interrupted. He hadn't raised his voice or made a move towards her, though his hands were clenched, to stop them from trembling. "Do you think I killed Mum and Dad? August - I was 15. I couldn't have done so."

No reply.

"Dad died before mum's drinking got worse Gus. He was run over by a drunk driver."

He stared down as his voice cracked a little on the words; their dad was a great man and had been the only thing holding their mom and their family together.

"I never quite understood how daddy died." August said, her voice flat. "A drunk driver."

Darren peered up at her to meet matching glassy eyes. "It seems a sick kind of ironic."

"I knew you couldn't have killed him." August started the words like sandpaper crawling out of her throat.

Her brother continued staring at her face. Still so young. She had been too young. He choked back a sob and the whine produced was heartwrenching.

August took a deep breath before glancing around the room and continuing. "She... when you left mother was... She was so normal. She seemed so normal sometimes and then other times..." Tears began to blur her darting gaze. "Sometimes she was so angry. I didn't know why. But I knew it was my fault. And other times she would be so sad and, and she would say how much she would be better or how you being away was killing her. It was nice for it to not be my fault-"

"And then she died."

"She... I loved her."

"I know. Me too. But we didn't like who she became." They found that they were standing closer than before. "And that's okay. It took me a long time, but I know, it's okay. I'm sorry Gus, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

And now they were clinging to each other for dear life, older now but still so, so young. And August sobbed. August sobbed because she knew her mother hadn't been right or healthy or happy and she knew her mother didn't love them the way she should have and because, despite everything, August knew she loved them. She had loved them. She knew from the few memories of lullabies and stories that became even fewer as she grew. August wanted to hold onto an idea of what her mother could have been, but she remembered, shouts, smashing and words that confused and upset her and twisted their way around Darren's neck.

She knew, she knew deep down that it wasn't Darren's fault. He didn't kill their mother. Mom had said he left to hurt her that she was getting worse because she was sad, but all he had wanted was freedom. He didn't force her to stay out late, to go missing for days, to come back sad and smelling of booze, to shout too loudly at her own 5 year old daughter, at August. It wasn't his fault that Augustbthought that was just what mothers did. It wasn't his fault that August now knew it was the alcohol addiction. It wasn't his fault that at the time she was to young to know that. She had blamed him all these years even when she had learned enough to know she shouldn't. She had blamed him because otherwise she would blame her mother. Her mother who she barely knew. She had blamed him because she couldn't hate a corpse.

Maybe it was time to forget the tales of the lady told at her mothers funeral that didn't match the person she had known. Maybe it was time to move on; to put blame in the past.

"It's not your fault. And I forgive you."

.  
.  
.

Alex walked into the living room after saying goodnight to an exhausted August. She sat down on the sofa and a piece of paper lying on the table caught her attention. It was August's work lying next to her still open pencilcase. She stared at it for a few moments before a tear threatened to fall and a suprised smile spread across her face.

"Mags... Maggie, I think you might want to take a look at this."

Maggie emerges from their bedroom, "What did- oh."

In the middle of the paper was a little drawing of August with "me" printed in her neatest handwriting underneath and from that emerged thin lines like a spiderweb, linking the word to lots of different names. There was "daddy" and "mother" writen in blue. There was also "Darren" in black with another line linking him to her parents. The other lines connected "me" to names that read "Alex", "Maggie", "Kara", "Will", "Laura" and the final name "Eve" was written in blue. From this first circle of people more were added with lines connecting them to each person they also knew. After "Kara", "Maggie" and "Alex" there came "Lucy", "Winn", "James", "Jordan", "John", "J'onn", "Cat", "Carter" and "Eliza". "Jeremiah" was also in blue.

All together it made a big, confusing, beautiful pattern.

They walked over to the doorway to August's room and saw her breathing steadily in sleep. Alex kissed Maggie softly and they both smiled. They both felt that somehow, those lines drawn on that page had made them feel more connected than ever before.

Content, Alex hummed with their faces resting against each other and Maggie whispered quietly  into her cheek.

"Can we keep her?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to anyone who is still reading this!   
> Sorry we haven't updated in so long, we weren't sure how the first part was going to be written, but we finally just went ahead and wrote whatever came into our minds instead.   
> What would you like to see in this fic in the the future? Thoughts on this chapter?   
> ~Ember


	16. Shenanigans

It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon - TV, lots of food, banter.

Oh, and of course, Maggie and John screaming, red faced, at each other from opposite ends of the room, Kara storming out of the bathroom screeching, and Alex frantically texting Winn and James to “help meh pleeeeaaaassseee.”

And you know what August finds hilarious? The subject of the argument itself: the toilet roll.

As she munches on her popcorn, she smiles to herself: Yep, just an ordinary weekend.

How on earth did this happen again?

.  
.  
.

The toilet flushed and the door opened with a purposefully dramatic squeak.

“MARGERET SAWYER! WHAT THE FRICK FRACK IS THIS MONSTROSITY?” John shouted, storming into the living room. August chuckled because by now John screaming like someone just murdered his dog was, in fact, a common occurrence. She grabbed the popcorn from the cupboard.

Maggie turned around from the couch and looked incredulously at him. “What are you on, Sheridan?”

“Would you like to explain why the toilet roll is facing THE. WRONG. WAY.”

Maggie stood up suddenly. “You wanna say that again?”

“Oh boy,” Alex muttered under her breath.

“Are you telling me that you think it’s acceptable to have the end of the roll facing the wall?” John practically hissed, and Maggie’s expression hardened in outrage.

“I’ll have you know that 99.9 recurring percent of the US population prefers the roll to face the wall!” She shot back, crossing her arms and clenching her jaw.

“Actually, you just made that up.” Alex pointed out. Maggie shot her a look that screamed: “TRAITOR”, though Alex just shrugged.

“But WHY on earth would you have it facing that way?” John continued, arms waving around wildly as he gestured towards the bathroom with enthusiasm. “You see, it looks better facing outwards.”

Maggie sputtered. “It does not! It’s far more tidy and practical facing the wall!”

August held out the popcorn bag to Alex, chewing on a large mouthful . “Want some?”

“Nah.”

“Ok. Ok. You know what?” John said, grabbing his phone, “I’m calling Luce and Jojo.”

“Fine,” Maggie said, narrowing her eyes. “They’re proving you wrong.”

“Oh please,” John drawled, “have I ever been wrong?”

Maggie looked straight ahead at him, arms still crossed, body taut with tension.

“Thank you.” He said smugly.

“That was meant to be a silent “yes John, you’ve always been wrong”.” She said.

Alex grabbed her own phone.

August kept chewing.

“Hi, Jor.” John said unto his phone, his voice calm though he gripped the phone so hard Alex was sure it could've easily broken.

“What do you mean, what do I want? I’ll have you know that I’m your very best friend and that-“

Maggie snatched the phone off from him, inciting a loud squawk of protest. “What way does the toilet roll face? You gotta tell this idiot here that he’s wrong.”

Maggie then put it on speaker.

“Well, actually,” Jordan said, their voice rather calm and collected, “I just leave it the way Luce puts it. Does it REALLY matter so much?”

Maggie gaped at the phone in her hand, mouth opening and closing without making sound.

“Mags? You okay?” Alex stood up. John plucked his phone back from her hand.

“Get Lucy, now.” He ordered.

“Jeez, you two.” They sighed back. “Luuuuccce! Sheridan wants you! Some stupid argument about toilet rolls!”

There was some noise through the phone before Lucy sighed: “What now?”

“Which way does the toilet roll face?” He said. The sound was silent as Lucy paused, save for August munching on her popcorn.

After Alex waved her hand in front of Maggie’s face, she seemed to spring back into action, walking up to John and his phone.

“Does it really matter? It’s the same: you wipe, scrunch, flush. No big deal, right?”

“SCRUNCH?” Both screeched ar the same time.

Alex quickly fired off a text to Kara: “HELP ME.”

Only moments later, Kara was knocking on the apartment door, and Alex ran to get it.

“You have to help. Maggie and John are going to KILL each other,” Alex whispered.

“It’s so much better than the movie we were watching before.” August commented.

“Right, and please help me stop them before they start throwing things at each other. And yes, that has happened before.”

Kara winced. “I’ll try.” She adjusted her glasses and walked in, signature smile on her face.

“Kara! Oh my god, please tell this crazy woman that she’s delusional.” John almost begged.

“What are you even arguing over?”

“The way the toilet roll faces.”

Kara stiffened, and ran quickly to the bathroom as fast as she could without using her powers.

“WHAT?” Kara shrieked, before storming back out of the bathroom, interrupting Maggie and John’s shouting match.

“Hold on a minute. YOU. LEAVE. THE. ROLL. FACING INWARDS? MAGGIE. EXPLAIN!” She said, standing next to John and crossing her arms.

“You look so adorable when you’re mad,” August said to Kara.

"I am A LOT older than YOU!" Kara whined.

“And...?” August raised an eyebrow. Kara sighed before turning back to Maggie.

“I thought I knew you,” John said despairingly.

“Same,” Maggie sighed, shaking her head. “And Kara! Out of all the people I thought you had some common sense-“

“Excuse me? EXCUSE ME? You’re the one that thinks it’s ok for the roll to face INWARDS!”

Alex groaned, before texting Winn and James quickly: “Help meh pleeeeeeeaaaaaasseee”

Winn replied instantly. “James is beating someone up rn wassup?”

 

A: No one uses “wassup anymore

W: whatevs... 

A: anyway I need your help how do I get John Maggie and Kara to stop screaming about toilet rolls 

W: toilet rolls...? 

A: don’t ask

W: if they’re arguing about which way it should face I’m in

A: Oh no 

W: it really should face inwards, like facing the wall

A: Kara n John will kill ya then 

W: How serious is it

A: They’re having cushion fights and Gus is joining in, help

W: K IM COMING OVER

A: Winn NO

A: They’ve started chucking popcorn and Gus is screaming at them because she loves her popcorn

W: POPCORN 

W: HECK YEAH

A: Winn NO

W: WINN YES

A: u were supposed to HELP DAMN IT

W: this is me helping 

A: You’re gonna have circuit training Monday morning and I’m making the circuit 

W: F*CK NO 

W: I'M A COMPUTER GUY

W: OK U WIN(n)

W: haha get it

W: Hello?

A: just tell me how to shut em up

W: do I get popcorn if I help

A: I’m texting James k bye

 

“COME BACK HERE SHERIDAN!” Maggie shrieked, chasing him with a cushion.

Kara intercepted John and hit him round the face with the cushion.

“DANVERS! Don’t you run away you-“ John shouted, turning on Kara.

August snuck up behind him and whacked him again.

“ET TU, GUS?”

Alex sighed, texting James.

 

A: help me. Please?

J: Wassup

J: damn it Winn messed my phone up

A: one word. Cushion fight.

J: sounds fun

J: we’re coming over

A: NO

J: k c ya later

A: wAIT

A: JAMES

A: Damn it

 

“Oops.” Kara said, looking down at the burst cushion in her hands, feathers flying everywhere.

“Did you just break MY CUSHION? The one I PAID FOR? My favourite one with the PATTERN?” Alex stood up slowly, all worries forgotten.

“Snap.” John gulped, August grimaced and everyone backed away as Alex stepped forward.

“I’m gonna tickle you all so bad you’ll be sobbing.” She said with full seriousness and conviction.

“Run,” Maggie whispered, as Alex darted forward, arms outstretched.

 


	17. Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its christmas eve and I ought to be posting fluff but alas. Ember is a star and wrote this whole chapter she's the best!  
> -Beck

“Finals are finally over!” August yelped joyously as she and Carter turned the corner and began the walk towards the cafe they started to frequent. “No more exams.”

“Was that pun intended? Finals are finally over?” Carter raised an eyebrow with a grin creeping on his face. Although he and Gus were several grades apart, Cat, Kara, Alex and Maggie had agreed to let the friends walk home together.

“You know you love my puns.” She gave him a slight knowing grin,

“Not really,” He said.

“That’s why you’re grinning?”

“Oh, shut it.”

She laughed in reply, nudging him as they joined the short queue inside the cafe. Carter eyed the table they usually sat at to study or chat after school, but today it was occupied: a lithe figure was sat, dressed in a neon orange shirt and jeans, sipping a cup of what was either tea or coffee, with short auburn hair and a smattering of freckles down the arms.

Before Carter could comment on him going to find another table, an ear-splitting scream sliced through the air, momentarily stilling the previously bustling activities of the cafe.

Carter swore he could hear a low, deep rumble reverberating through his very core, and as the sound increased, the ground began to quake.

The cafe erupted into chaos.

Instantly, August had grabbed his hand, and she began to move the both of them towards the fire entrance round the back as more screams resounded from outside. A large, dark figure appeared, and both had to strain their eyes to make out the silhouette seen through the translucent, frosted windows.

The auburn haired stranger from before was dialling somebody on their phone whilst gripping the table for purchase, their rich, alto voice tugging on a memory inside August’s mind.

She recognised that voice from days ago, god, it felt like forever, she thought, back to a weekend full of popcorn and screeching and flying pillow stuffing, where Maggie and John had called their friends, Lucy and—

“Jordan!” She shouted, causing the person in question to swivel around sharply, their eyes searching, meeting hers.

The shaking of the ground and the screaming increased in intensity, and August stumbled into Carter, who stuck his hand out against the wall, bracing their combined weight—

The glass shattered.

.  
.  
.

“J’onn, I’m getting an alert from a cafe a few streets down from now.” Winn frowned, typing furiously and honing in the location. “We’re also getting... tectonic activity?”

“There shouldn’t be any tectonic activity here, we’re nowhere near a fault line... could be an alien.” J’onn answered, peering at the screen.

The ground shook, causing everyone to stumble.

“The magnitude’s rising... whatever this alien is, it could cause mass damage if it keeps rising at this rate.”

“I can gather a strike team to apprehend the alien and alert NCPD.” Alex suggested, already strapping on various guns to herself.

“I’ll come with you.” Kara clenched her jaw, eyeing Winn’s screen intensely.

“Good. Agent Schott, search our databases and see if you can identify the species we’re dealing with. Hartley-“ He said to Darren, who had just walked into the room, “you can help him search the database. Agent Schott, fill him in. Let’s go.”   
.  
.  
.  
“There’s nothing here.” Kara frowned as she landed outside the cafe. The windows were shattered as if something large or strong had smashed through them, and there were cracks snaking their way through the concrete. The shaking had stopped a while ago.

“I’m going in to help the survivors.” Kara said to Alex, who nodded.

“Anything?” J’onn said down the comms.

“No. No sign of the alien.”

Alex’s phone rang sharply in her pocket. She answered it quickly, and before she could say anything, Maggie’s frantic voice filtered through.

“Where’s Gus?”

 

.

.

.

 

The sound of shattering glass rang sharply in Lucy’s ears, as Jordan’s voice was cut off on their end of the phone call. Lucy called her friend once more, twice, thrice.

Nothing.

Pacing up and down the room, Lucy thought hard, mulling over the last words she heard.

There had been rumbling noises from the cafe Jordan had been in, Lucy had heard.

Rumbling.

Like an earthquake.

There’d been screaming, and right before the glass had shattered, Jordan had said: “Luce, there’s some sort of dark shape outside and it looks too big to be human, and—“

Too big to be human.

Alien.

Her heart started to pound frantically - her friend, the person who’d leant on her and who she leant on, the person who patiently listened and supported her, the person who’d gladly let her back in after Lucy had left friendship for a career...

Jordan’s life was on the line, and Lucy would damn herself to the deepest level of hell if it would mean they would survive.

She leaped into action, grabbing a couple of small pistols that she’d kept locked in her safe, remnants of her brief days with the DEO. She snatched up her motorcycle keys, forgoing the helmet.

And as she thundered down the stairs from the apartment, almost flying over the steps, she dialled a number she hadn’t dialled in a while.

“Director Henshaw - or should I say, J’onn - this is Lucy. Lucy Lane.”

.  
.  
.

“Hey, it’s Carter - if you’re hearing this I’m probably busy and I’ll call you back later.”

Cat groaned, hearing her son’s answer greeting for the fifth - or was it the sixth? - time.

Sitting in front of her laptop, her eyes caught one of the headlines on a news website, and narrowed, scrutinising the screen intensely.

It was an alien attack.

Cursing, Cat stood up abruptly and dialled another number, her voice sharp and honed with anger, with an underlying tone of desperation.

Her son was in danger. Her son, who found beauty in the smallest of things, whose very presence calmed her down after a stressful day, the one person she would rip the universe apart for if she could...

She was going to get Carter back.

She was.

So she collected herself, squared her shoulders, and spoke down the phone.

“Keira! Or should I say Supergirl. Don’t stammer at me, the glasses don’t help and we all know it. My son is missing, I haven’t heard from him since the alien attack on the cafe, and I need your help to find him.”

.  
.  
.

"Where's Gus?"

Alex stumbled for words. “What-what do you mean?”

“She hasn’t arrived at home, she hasn’t answered any of my calls, I... I don’t know where she is. Have you heard from her?” Maggie responded.

“No.” Alex frowned, but she was interrupted by Kara rushing out of the cafe, frowning and speaking urgently to someone down the other end of her comms, which was linked to her phone.

“Maggie, didn’t August say she and Carter were going to a cafe after school?”

“Yeah. Why?”

Alex tried to calm her speedily beating heart, to no avail. “There’s been an alien attack on a cafe, and we were too slow to stop it.”

A pause. Then a shaky voice: “Which cafe?”

“The sign seems to have fallen off and I can’t find it, but...” Alex swivelled around, spying the sign with the name of the street. “It’s just up the end of Parsonage Boulevard.”

A sharp intake of breath. “That’s where Gus said the cafe was.”

Alex’s hand had started shaking. “I... no, it can’t be...” she spotted Kara making her way up towards her, quickly and with intent. “Look, I think Kara’s figured out something, I... I have to get back to the DEO soon, I’ll meet you there as soon as possible. We’re gonna find Gus, ok? We have to find her, we’re going to find her...”

“We will. I’ll see you there.”

The call was ended as soon as Kara reached Alex.

“Alex, we have a problem.”

She let out a shaky breath, running a hand through her hair, avoiding Kara’s eyes. “Actually, Kara, I was going to say that.”

“Well, firstly, Cat Grant knows I’m Supergirl. And secondly, Carter’s gone missing, straight after this alien attack.” Kara said, frowning. “Alex, what’s wrong? You don’t look okay.”

“Maggie called, and said that Gus hadn’t showed up, and hasn’t answered any of her calls. She’s missing, too.” Alex answered quietly. “And she also said that it was this specific cafe.”

Kara rubbed her forehead. “The people inside are safe and unharmed apart from a few scratches and bumps, but I haven’t seen Gus and Carter.”

Alex cursed.

“Supergirl, Agent Danvers.” J’onn spoke suddenly. “Get back to the DEO immediately. Agents Schott and Hartley found something on the alien we’re looking for, and Lucy Lane wants to help and has something to tell you.”

The sisters cast worried looks at each other, before one shot into the air and one climbed inside a black vehicle.

.  
.  
.

Maggie was anxious.

Since arriving at the DEO exactly 8 minutes and 42 seconds ago, (43, 44, 45...) she had paced up and down the room about 98 times (99, 100, 101 and counting.)

She couldn’t stop. Not until Alex and Kara arrived and they got Gus and Jordan and Carter back.

102, 103. 104. 105.

Lucy had stopped pacing, however, and was taking apart her pistol and putting it back together again, and again, and again.

A blur flew in and landed promptly, her red cape still swishing with momentum. Kara’s face looked incredibly worried, with her furrowed brow and clenched fists and jaw. Maggie looked her over, noticing the Kryptonian’s body was quivering with tension and energy she was dying to release.

Maggie felt the same way.

“There was no sign of August, or Carter.” Kara sighed as the distant rumble of a vehicle sounded outside. Through the glass, Maggie spotted several dark-clad figures jumping out, and a flash of brown hair in the midst. Maggie almost audibly sighed in relief at the sight of her girlfriend returning in one piece, even though she already knew that Alex hadn’t faced any danger by the cafe.

But Maggie didn’t want to face the chance of losing anyone else.

“What do you mean, no sign of August?” Darren questioned, looking up from the screen.

“It means,” Maggie said tersely, her nerves stretched taut, “August went missing in the attack.”

Before a shocked looking Darren could say anything, Alex jogged up to them. “Carter also went missing, and Cat wants us to find him too.”

Kara nodded, confirming the information. Maggie bit her lip.

Lucy looked up from reassembling her pistol, and set it down loudly. All eyes turned towards her.

“J’onn said you had something else to tell us, and that you wanted to help.” Alex said to Lucy, who nodded.

“Jordan... they went missing too. They called me in the middle of the attack before...” Lucy drew in a breath. “Before the glass shattered. And they were in the cafe down Parsonage Boulevard.”

Alex cursed before she could stop herself. Kara’s fist clenched so tightly her knuckles  went white.

J’onn broke the silence. “Ok. We need to act as quickly as possible and get the three civilians out of danger. Schott, Hartley, what can you tell us about the alien?”

“The alien is most likely a Motus, a species with the ability to control the earth’s tectonic movement, to an extent. They can cause severe earthquakes, and also are strong and for the most part, impenetrable. They can manipulate rocks and other raw minerals to act as their armour, if they so wished.” Winn explained, pulling up a diagram of the alien.

“Any reason as to why they took our friends?” Lucy asked.

“Inmate 7325 - a young Motus was causing trouble a few years back.” J’onn suddenly said, realisation gripping him. “It was before any of you knew of the DEO... and we apprehended the Motus before it could do serious damage. Maybe this particular Motus wants revenge on us capturing one of its own.”

“Or hold them as leverage.” Darren added stonily, body quivering with pent-up energy and emotion and nervousness.

“If you’ve captured one before, surely we can do it again.” Kara frowned. “How did you track it?”

“Through the tectonic activity it caused - though that one hadn’t quite matured into adulthood, so it didn’t quite have a handle on its power. The Motus we’re facing now was more careful to hide its power.” J’onn continued. “It would be harder to track them.”

“Does it have a weakness?” Maggie asked. “How did you capture it?”

“It has no mental defences. A telepath could walk right in and turn its mind inside out with no resistance whatsoever. It’s strong, but underneath it’s armour of rock and metal it’s skin is no less softer than a human’s.”

“So if we find a gap in its metal...” Kara began.

“... We could use that to our advantage.” Alex finished, and the two sisters nodded at each other.

“How are we going to find the Motus before it does any harm to Jordan and Gus and Carter?” Lucy interjected.

“We don’t.” Darren stated. “It’s video calling us.”

Winn instantly began typing away as everyone else squared their shoulders and faced the flashing screen. The alien looked distinctly human-like, save for the strange dark whorls covering its skin where visible, its flashing, large silvery orbs as eyes and its armour, made of scraps of metal and thin slabs of rock.

“I want one thing, and one thing only.” It spoke, its voice low and rumbling. “Free my brother. You may know him as Inmate 7325, from a few years ago. Grant us safe passage back to our home planet, and in exchange I will let these three humans walk away unscathed.”

Everyone tensed, as the view panned sideways to reveal their friends, tightly tied up and gagged.

Maggie’s breath stuttered in her throat, as she gripped the tabletop tightly and tried not to let her knees buckle. The sight of August, tied up and held against her will, defenceless...

Lucy clenched her jaw, hand drifting to her pistol. Kara’s eyes involuntarily flashed white with her heat vision and Darren looked like he was going to punch a wall.

Maggie looked at the screen once more, closely, and barely - just barely - resisted the urge to tear something down.

Alex pushed her way to the front, anger blazing in her eyes, hardening her features.

“You let them go.” Alex hissed, her voice low and cold and icy. “You let them go, right now, before we—“

The alien narrowed its eyes. “In exactly an hour, I will meet you at the fishing port with the humans. You will turn up with my brother, and we will exchange the people we want back the most to each other. If you open fire on me, if you try anything... National City doesn’t know what a real earthquake is like, and I’m eager to show you.”

The screen turned dark.

“I tracked the video signal and I have a location.” Winn said quietly.

“Good.” J’onn said. “I don’t trust this Motus.”

“What now?” Kara asked. “We can’t just sit here and let it have what it wants—“

“Exactly, who knows if it will even follow up on its word?” Maggie finished. “He could be doing who knows what to them—“

“We’re not letting that happen.” Lucy interjected. “Not on my watch.”

Everyone crossed their arms and turned to J’onn.

He nodded. “Supergirl, Danvers, Lane, Sawyer. We’re heading out. Not you, Hartley.” J’onn added, seeing Darren jump out of his seat.

“Director, I’m coming with you, that’s my sister.” He started, but J’onn shook his head.

“I know how much you want to go, but you haven’t been on your final assessed practice field mission yet, and therefore, have no experience in the field. You’re staying here, with Agent Schott.”

Darren didn’t sit down.

“I am not leaving her again, I won’t do that to her. Her life is on the line, and I don’t care if I would be a damn hindrance or not. I left her once already, I didn’t give her what she needed and I’m not about to do that again.”

“Hartley, this is an order—“

“Please—“

Alex cut in before the situation could rise any further. “J’onn, let him come.” Seeing his incredulous expression, she added: “He’s top of his class in combat, strategy and weaponry, is he not? I’ve seen the batch of recruits he came along with, and he’s beaten all of them into the dust. August is his sister, is he not?” She lowered her voice. “You know what I’d sacrifice for my sister, and he’d disobey your orders and go after the Motus regardless of whether or not you let him, just like anyone else here would.”

Maggie felt a surge of pride for Alex rise within herself, and decided to point out: “Darren’s already left for the armoury.”

“That is one plucky guy.” Lucy added.

J’onn whirled, only just noticing the empty chair next to a sheepish looking Winn.

He sighed. “He can come. Let’s move out.”

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

As the alien ended the video call, August strained once more to free herself from the bonds, the coarse ropes around her almost biting into her skin. She exchanged glances with Carter, who was trying to do the same, and then looked over at Jordan, who was as calm and stony as they were frantic and desperate. 

  
August understood what glimmered in their eyes. The hope that they would make it out alive.

They were coming. They had to be. Alex and Maggie and Kara had to be on their way — deep down, August knew it. Just as she knew that Winn was tracking and planning the shortest route, just as she knew that Darren would be mulling over possible situations and strategies and talking to everyone else on the most efficient way to go about it. She could picture J’onn pacing and ordering agents to their different stations, could picture Alex buckling herself into the vehicle and double checking her weapons, could picture Maggie loading her gun. She could even picture Lucy, who she never actually met, climbing onto a motorcycle and sliding a helmet over her head, whilst Kara jumped into the air and cut through the air so fast she became a blur. Her mind went as far as to imagine Cat pacing up and down her office shouting down her phone.

August could picture them coming for her and Carter and Jordan. She knew they wouldn’t give the alien what it wanted.

But it was taking them a hell of a long time. She’d lost track of how long they had been trapped.

They had to be coming.

They had to.

August repeated the words to herself mentally, clinging onto them like a lifeline.

.  
.  
.

Lucy deftly jumped off her motorcycle, the engine idling softly. Across the road lay the warehouse, and they had decided to stop a reasonable distance from it for the element of surprise.

The DEO agents plus Maggie hopped out of the vehicle, and Kara hovered in the air.

“Ok. Supergirl, you break in first and attack.” Alex said. “Lucy, Maggie — untie the hostages and get them out safely. Darren, you and I will help apprehend the Motus. The rest of you, go check the perimeter and find a way in for us to go through stealthily.”

Everyone nodded and most of the agents moved into action, quietly advancing towards the warehouse, Lucy and Maggie in tow.

“Ready?” Alex asked.

“Ready,” Kara responded, and flew up into the air before hurtling through the ceiling.   
.  
.  
.

Something crashed through the ceiling and collided into their captor.

Supergirl wrestled with the alien, landing a few good punches. Relief flooded through Jordan, as a small, dark-clad figure ran up to them, untied the gag and deftly began prying the knots loose.

Lucy.

Jordan almost sobbed with relief as their roommate worked at the bonds until they were loose enough for them to get out of themselves. A few feet away, Maggie was untying August.

“You came.” Jordan gasped as soon as the gag had been taken off. “Luce.”

Lucy pulled them to their feet, and they hugged briefly before the ground jolted slightly. Jordan slipped, but Lucy secured them quickly.

“Of course I would.” She answered in a low, soft voice that they could barely hear over the background noise of fighting and gunshots. “Jor, you of all people should know that I don’t leave the people I care about behind.”

.  
.  
.

Kara, Maggie, Alex, J’onn and Lucy all stood by, eyeing the Motus as it was escorted away by Darren and various other DEO agents, its armour removed, chains now crossing over its skin, and power dampening cuffs. It shot a glare at Kara as it passed them, the large orbs for eyes glinting, and Kara only crossed her arms and raised her chin slightly, shoulders squared.

“Move.” Darren grumbled, digging his gun into the back of its neck (though the alien didn’t know that it was actually a taser gun).

Alex wordlessly passed the controls to one of the agents, the control that opened and closed prison cells with a simple click.

“The cell to the right of the other Motus.” She said, and Darren nodded, escorting the alien down the corridor leading to the cells.

“I’m going to make sure it doesn’t escape.” Kara muttered, striding after them.

As soon as the Motus was marched at gunpoint round the corner with Kara following closely, everyone else visibly relaxed. Lucy, Alex and Maggie instantly turned, making their way towards the med-bay where Jordan, Carter and August were being checked over by the doctors.

“God, I’m so glad you’re safe,” Alex gushed immediately, wrapping August tightly up in her arms, Maggie joining them promptly.

“Thank you for coming after us,” August whispered back, returning the hug.

“Of course we would, Gus,” Maggie murmured. “Of course we would.”

As August burrowed further into their embraces, Maggie felt a strong pull deep down inside, an overwhelming feeling smouldering in her very core, a burning instinct to protect, to care, to cherish.

To love.

And on that very moment, Maggie Sawyer swore an oath to give August what her family never gave her. She swore she would be better than her father. She swore that no matter what, she was not going to leave anyone she cared for behind. She swore to herself that there was no limits to what she would do for this family built on trust and understanding and appreciation.

Alex hugged them tighter, and Maggie’s lips curved up in a soft smile.   
.  
.  
.

Darren leant in the doorway, watching Kara converse briefly with Jordan and Lucy, and watched as Maggie and Alex and August slowly pulled apart.

“I have to get back to NCPD.” Maggie said, gesturing towards her now beeping phone. In the distance, an agent called for Alex, and she whispered something to Gus before walking past him out of the door. Kara stood up, exchanged a few words to August, before also passing him out the door, towards Carter waiting outside where she would fly him back to Cat.

Lucy and Jordan were still talking, and Darren averted his gaze from the two, not wanting to intrude on what was probably a private moment.

“You came with them.” August said, and he turned back towards her.

“I... I wasn’t going to sit back and do things from behind the scene.” He answered.

Gus got up from the bed. “There was a time, once, where I never thought you would do that for me.”

His mind flickered back in time. The cold had settled in at the sight of his sister in danger. The cold satisfaction in snapping the cuffs shut, the biting chill in his voice as he spoke to the prisoner alone. The pain in his split knuckles from the three carefully measured hits. One in the nose, one in the throat, one in the gut. One for each person the Motus had taken hostile. He would’ve thrown more punches had it not been for the fact that that Alex would deal with it later. The cold satisfaction that had returned when he roughly pushed the alien into the prison and clicked the cell shut wordlessly. The icy thrill inside from forcing the prisoner forward at gunpoint. The wild urge to pull the trigger and cause it pain.

The fact that he had enjoyed such cruel power also made him sick to the core.

He looked back at August, and willed the cold to go away, warmth filtering back.

“I left you once already. I swear to you that I won’t leave you ever again.”

.  
.  
.

Walking home with August was like a hazy blur to Alex. Gus had insisted on walking, and Alex had agreed to walk her back whilst Maggie was at the station. Alex barely registered her surroundings, barely was aware of August’s presence walking beside her. Both were silent.

When they’d reached their apartment, August made her way over to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed, having fallen asleep instantly. Alex watched the sleeping girl for a moment, as she struggled against the rising onslaught of emotions raging inside her.

“I could’ve stopped this from ever happening at all,” she whispered into the silent and awaiting night as she stared out the window. “I should’ve—“

Alex choked on her speech, shaking, crying, sinking to the floor.

She needed something, anything, to dull the sharp edge of the pain and the guilt that had been clawing inside her for what felt like forever.

And before she knew it, the fridge door handle was in one hand, and in the other, a bottle of scotch, the glass cool and somewhat reassuring in her hand.

.  
.  
.

Lucy stirred her hot chocolate with a spoon, staring morosely out of the window. Jordan had decided to go to bed early, which left her time to think.

She’d told Jordan she’d never leave anyone she cared about behind. Every word of it was true.

Too true.

A mere hour ago, the two had been hugging, crying, glad that the other was safe above all else. They’d hugged many times before (it was in fact Jordan who had gotten Lucy accustomed with hugs), but this time, it felt... different, somehow.

A slow burning feeling that she couldn’t quite name.

.  
.  
.

When Maggie returned, she found Alex downing a glass of scotch like there was no tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey to those who are still reading this! (I’m so sorry we haven’t updated in forever! Life happened...) Please let us know what you think of this chapter, and we’ll try to update as soon as possible.   
> ~Ember x


End file.
